Washington
Ex-cop who stalked woman sentenced to 10 days jail
EVERETT, Wash. (AP) — A former Everett police officer must spend 10 days in jail, perform community service and spend six years essentially on probation, for stalking an ex-girlfriend, a judge ruled Tuesday.
A Snohomish County Superior Court jury found Jared Corson, 37, of Kirkland, guilty last month of stalking, official misconduct and intercepting private communication, The Daily Herald reported.
The former officer was charged with using a tracking device on a car belonging to the woman’s new boyfriend, then lying about it in a sworn deposition when the woman applied for a protection order.
Under state guidelines, Corson faced up to a year of jail time for each of the three crimes.
Deputy prosecutor Matthew Boska asked the judge to impose a sentence of 60 days in jail, followed by community service. The prosecutor said the fact that Corson was a police officer was an aggravating factor.
Defense attorney Karen Halverson asked the judge to impose a sentence of community service.
In her sentencing memorandum, Halverson wrote that Corson is the lone financial provider for his wife and their two young children.
Corson, who worked for the Everett Police Department for five years, was placed on leave in December 2020 amid an internal investigation. He resigned months later.
Corson in court apologized to police officers for his conduct.
Indiana
Man pleads guilty in real estate rental fraud case
NEWARK, N.J. (AP) — An Indiana man pleaded guilty Tuesday to running a real estate fraud scheme that persuaded investors to buy rental properties, then lied to them about the properties’ condition and whether they were even being rented.
Herbert Whalen pleaded guilty by videoconference before a federal judge in New Jersey to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud. He had also been charged in a 2019 indictment with separate counts of wire fraud.
According to prosecutors, the 47-year-old Indianapolis resident scammed investors out of millions of dollars from 2016 to 2018 by disguising the poor condition of the rental properties and, with a co-conspirator at his company, Oceanpointe, drafting fake leases to make it look as though the properties were being rented.
Investors who expressed concerns about the properties were paid in part to silence them, according to the U.S. attorney’s office. In one instance, an Oceanpointe employee posed as an investor and wrote on an online real estate message board that the company had addressed their concerns.
The indictment described victims from South Orange, New Jersey and Plainview, New York who bought properties in Indianapolis.
Whalen is scheduled to be sentenced on July 14. The conspiracy count carries a maximum potential penalty of 20 years in prison. A message seeking comment was left with his attorney Tuesday.
Indiana
Mom of murdered 11-month-old sentenced to 2 1/2 years
PLYMOUTH, Ind. (AP) — A judge has sentenced the mother of a murdered 11-month-old northern Indiana girl to 2 1/2 years in jail.
Jennifer Coburn, 33, of Plymouth pleaded guilty last month to neglect of a dependent under a plea agreement. She was sentenced Friday, the South Bend Tribune reported.
Police found the body of 11-month-old Mercedes Lain in a wooded area near the Marshall-Starke County line last August.
The child’s father, Kenneth Lain of Grovertown, pleaded guilty last month to neglect of a dependent under a plea agreement. He also was sentenced to 2 1/2 years in prison.
A family friend, Justin Miller, 37, was recently sentenced to 65 years in prison after pleading guilty to murder in Mercedes’ beating death.
Lain reported Mercedes missing on Aug.15, prompting a search by local, state and federal law enforcement. Miller eventually told police he hit and killed Mercedes at a home in Mishawaka and took her to a remote part of Starke County, where her body was later found.
Coburn’s sentencing marks the conclusion of the three criminal cases that stemmed from Mercedes’ disappearance and murder.
“This is the last chapter in the sad, sad tale of Mercedes’ short life,” Marshall County Prosecutor Nelson Chipman said. “Any time there’s a child victim who doesn’t deserve anything near that life, let alone the end of life, that leaves a scar.”
Mississippi
Man sentenced for sexual assault, death of child
JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — A Mississippi man was sentenced Tuesday to 37 1/2 years in prison for the sexual assault and death of a child on the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians Reservation, federal prosecutors said.
Brett K. Hickman, 28, of Tucker, sexually assaulted and murdered a 2-year-old girl on June 8, 2019, U.S. Attorney Darren J. LaMarca and FBI Special Agent in Charge Jermicha Fomby said in a news release. The child lived at Hickman’s home in the Tucker community, one of eight on the tribe’s land near Philadelphia, Mississippi.
Hickman pleaded guilty in federal court on July 13, 2021 to a charge of second-degree murder and aggravated sexual abuse of a child before U.S. District Judge David Bramlette, who handed down Tuesday’s sentence.
Texas
Man accused of civil disorder in 2021 Capitol riot
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — A 37-year-old Austin man was arrested Tuesday after federal agents accused him of civil disorder and related offenses in last year’s riot at the U.S. Capitol, officials said.
Geoffrey Samuel Shough, 37, was arrested in Austin, according to a Justice Department statement.
Video showed Shough among the crowd of rioters at the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, according to a criminal complaint submitted by the FBI. It said the video showed Shough waving a Texas flag and wearing what appeared to be a body-armor vest, ballistic-style helmet, goggles and hard-knuckle gloves.
Shough was among the first few to breach a line of U.S. Capitol Police, overwhelming the officers and forcibly entering the Senate wing, the FBI said.
Court records list no attorney for Shough.
Delaware
Former pain clinic doctor gets 20 years for drug offenses
WILMINGTON, Del. (AP) — A former doctor convicted of several federal drug offenses linked to his Milford pain clinic was sentenced Tuesday to 20 years in prison.
Patrick Titus was convicted in July of more than a dozen crimes including knowingly dispensing narcotics without a legitimate medical purpose and maintaining his practice primarily as an outlet to sell drugs.
Titus did not address the judge before he was sentenced, The News Journal reported. His attorneys argued for leniency, saying Titus suffers from a cognitive disorder. They said he believed he was handling patients’ medical care “professionally.”
At trial, prosecutors argued that Titus gave out dangerous prescriptions without rendering meaningful medical care while ignoring signs of patient abuse. His defense argued the Air Force veteran was acting in good faith to help people in pain.
A former patient testified Tuesday that Titus robbed patients of their “dignity” through his own greed. She said he “willfully overprescribed” her a long list of addictive medications that ultimately led to her addiction and the loss of family ties and her career.
Ohio
Ex-campaign chief for U.S. rep sentenced in $1.4M theft
CINCINNATI (AP) — A former campaign manager for a veteran member of Congress was sentenced to two years in prison Tuesday after pleading guilty to two federal counts in a case saying he stole more than $1.4 million from the campaign.
Jamie Schwartz, 42, admitted embezzling the money while working for the campaigns of Rep. Steve Chabot, R-Cincinnati, during 2011-2019.
Schwartz apologized to Chabot and his staff before being sentenced in federal court, saying his life became a lie. “My behavior became worse and worse,” he said.
Schwartz must repay the $1.42 million to the campaign, The Cincinnati Enquirer reported.
An attorney for Chabot, who is serving his 13th U.S. House term, said in 2019 that he had been the victim of “financial malfeasance.”
Federal prosecutors said Schwartz was upfront about what he had done.
“He came fully and completely clean,” said Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew Singer. “It’s a rare occasion that a defendant walks into our office with a box of evidence and is an open book.”
Massachusetts
Feds: Woman stole veterans benefits intended for late sister
BOSTON (AP) — A Massachusetts woman has been sentenced to a month in prison and three years of probation for stealing more than $100,000 in veterans benefits that were intended for her late sister, federal prosecutors said.
Robin Calef, 62, of Brockton, was also ordered by a federal judge in Boston on Tuesday to pay back the money to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, according to a statement from the U.S. attorney’s office in Boston.
Calef’s sister, who was receiving monthly benefits from the VA, died in December 2006 but Calef failed to inform the VA of the death, prosecutors said.
The VA from December 2006 until September 2017 continued to deposit benefits into a joint bank account held by Calef and her sister, authorities said.
According to bank records, Calef made monthly withdrawals of approximately the exact amount of VA benefit funds deposited into the account.
Calef stole approximately $102,289 in VA funds not intended for her, prosecutors said.
She pleaded guilty in November to theft of public funds.
Rhode Island
4 members of violent gang plead guilty
PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) — Four members of what authorities describe as a violent street gang that has been involved in multiple shootings and illegal drug sales in Rhode Island have pleaded guilty to racketeering charges, federal prosecutors said.
Delacey Andrade, 28; Kendrick Johnson, 30; Keishon Johnson, 32; and Montrel Johnson, 25 — members of the Providence-based Chad Brown gang — have each recently pleaded guilty to participating in the activities of a racketeer influenced corrupt organization, the U.S. attorney’s office in Providence said in a statement Tuesday.
The gang has been involved in a conflict with a rival gang that dates to 2013 including drive-by shootings and three killings, prosecutors said. The defendants in the case were not charged in federal court with any killings.
The gang members, described by state Attorney General Peter Neronha as “some of the worst perpetrators of violent crime in Providence” were arrested through the cooperation of federal, state and city law enforcement agencies.
U.S. Attorney Zachary Cunha called the guilty pleas “a victory for public safety.”
Keishon and Kendrick Johnson are brothers and Montrel Johnson is their cousin, authorities said.
The defendants face sentencing in May and June.
