Virginia
Convicted felon gets additional prison time for buying gun
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — A Richmond man who was released from prison three years ago after serving 23 years for a federal drug trafficking conspiracy is going back behind bars for having a gun he bought on the street.
Following a hearing on Wednesday in U.S. District Court in Richmond, Keith L. Hopkins Jr., 54, was sentenced to 33 months in prison for his earlier guilty plea to possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, the Richmond Times-Dispatch reported.
Hopkins also admitted he was selling drugs again.
Richmond police caught Hopkins with a 9 mm semiautomatic pistol on Oct. 27 as they were executing an arrest warrant on another person at a convenience store. Officers observed Hopkins reach into his waistband, pull out a holstered gun and discard it in a vehicle with two people in it, according to the government’s case.
Hopkins subsequently told police that he purchased the gun “off the street” for $325. He “further stated that he sells illegal narcotics and makes approximately $500-$600 per day doing so.”
Two years earlier, Hopkins was released from federal prison after serving 23 years for conspiring to distribute heroin and cocaine.
Arizona
Trial called off in case of boy starved to death
FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (AP) — The upcoming trial for the grandmother of a 6-year-old Flagstaff boy who died after being locked in a closet and denied food has been called off.
Ann Martinez was scheduled to go on trial next week on first-degree murder, kidnapping and child abuse charges. Instead, a judge will determine whether she’s psychologically fit to stand trial.
Coconino County Superior Court Judge Ted Reed made the referral Wednesday for a determination of competency.
Martinez has pleaded not guilty to the charges in the death of her grandson, Deshaun Martinez. An autopsy found the boy, who weighed just 18 pounds (8.1 kilograms), died of starvation in March 2020.
The boy’s parents — Elizabeth Archibeque and Anthony Martinez — also face murder, kidnapping and child abuse charges in Coconino County Superior Court. Their cases are being tried separately from the grandmother’s case.
The boy’s parents initially attributed their son’s malnourished state to a medical condition and to ingesting diet or caffeine pills. Eventually, they told police they kept Deshaun and his older brother in a closet for 16 hours a day and gave them little to eat. The brother survived.
Police said the boys’ confinement was punishment for stealing food while the parents slept. Their two sisters were found healthy in the apartment where they all lived.
Ann Martinez has acknowledged spanking the boys with a red clothes hanger and said she tried to give them food but Archibeque wouldn’t allow it, according to court documents.
Indiana
Man admits buying gun used to kill Chicago cop
CHICAGO (AP) — A northwestern Indiana man pleaded guilty Wednesday to making an illegal “straw” purchase of a handgun that was later used to kill a Chicago police officer during a traffic stop.
Jamel Danzy, 30, of Hammond, entered the plea to one count of federal firearm conspiracy during a videoconference before U.S. District Judge Robert Gettleman.
Danzy could get up to a year and four months in prison when he’s sentenced on Oct. 28.
Officer Ella French was killed and her partner was critically wounded last August after they stopped an SUV with expired tags on Chicago’s South Side. Two brothers who were in the SUV, Eric and Emonte Morgan, are awaiting trial on first-degree murder charges.
Danzy bought the gun used in the shooting in March 2021 from a licensed dealer in Hammond, Indiana, records show. Danzy admitted to federal agents that he bought the weapon for someone who had a felony record and could not buy a gun for himself.
Authorities allege that the gun Danzy bought was for someone who wasn’t allowed to buy guns and was used in the shooting.
The same gun was found in a yard where Eric Morgan was arrested on the night of French’s killing, prosecutors said.
Florida
Man pleads guilty in fatal ‘nitrous oxide’ crash
TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — A Florida man suspected of inhaling nitrous oxide from a whipped cream dispenser before causing a fatal crash has pleaded guilty to vehicular homicide.
Tucker Hoopengarner, 29, also admitted Wednesday to a charge of unlawful distribution of nitrous oxide, the Tampa Bay Times reported. The July 1, 2020, crash killed Jill Lawniczak, 53.
Investigators said Hoopengarner was speeding in rush hour traffic near Tampa when he veered into an oncoming lane and crashed into Lawniczak’s Kia.
On the passenger-side floorboard of his SUV, investigators found a black commercial-grade whipped cream dispenser, which uses nitrous oxide cannisters as propellant, several spent cannisters and a box marked “XXX Platinum - 50 Triple Refined Cream Chargers.”
None of the law enforcement officers working the crash said Hoopengarner appeared to be under the influence of a substance. But he did appear “spaced out,” according to a search warrant application.
A blood test taken after the crash detected marijuana, but yielded no other substances.
Though the evidence was thin, investigators alleged that Hoopengarner inhaled the gas and possibly went unconscious just before the crash. Nitrous oxide leaves the body within minutes, unlike alcohol and many drugs.
His defense attorney, Christopher Klemawesch, had argued the case should be dismissed, the Times reported.
But on Wednesday, Hoopengarner took a plea deal.
“I know he took it extremely seriously,” Klemawesch said. “I know it had a profound effect on him. I know he certainly wishes it had never happened.”
Prosecutors cited “reckless driving at a high rate of speed” in bringing the vehicular homicide charge.
“His sentence is consistent with the law as well as the wishes of the victim’s family, and we are proud to achieve the justice they deserve,” Hillsborough State Attorney Andrew Warren said in a statement.
The judge sentenced Hoopengarner to six years in prison followed by 10 years of probation and 50 hours of community service.
Utah
British man arrested after London-LA flight diverted to Utah
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — A British man aboard a flight from London to Los Angeles grabbed a passenger seated in front of him by the throat and tried to hit and bite him, prompting the diversion of the flight to Utah, authorities said Wednesday.
William Stephen Hayes, 39, was arrested after the Virgin Atlantic flight landed Tuesday in Salt Lake City, police said in a statement. He was charged with assault and interfering with the flight crew, the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Utah said in charging documents.
Witnesses told authorities that after passengers and crew members restrained and handcuffed Hayes following the alleged assault, he still tried to fight with people nearby and kick the plane’s windows, the charging documents said.
Local police took Hayes into custody after the plane landed and referred the case to the U.S. Attorney’s office, which typically has authority over international flights. The plane then resumed its flight to Los Angeles.
No attorney who could comment on Hayes’ behalf was listed in the charging documents. The U.S. Attorney’s office did not immediately return a telephone message seeking comment.
Virgin said in a statement that “the safety and wellbeing of our customers and crew is always our top priority and we don’t tolerate any behaviour that compromises this.”
“Our cabin crew are highly trained to deal with any individuals that may impact that experience for others,” the statement added.
Ohio
Man charged in U.S. Capitol siege gets 2 years probation
CINCINNATI (AP) — An Ohio man who admitted threatening a witness after posting videos from the U.S. Capitol riots was sentenced Wednesday to two years of probation.
Justin Stoll, of Wilmington, had pleaded guilty in January in U.S. District Court in Cincinnati to transmitting a threat to injure. Authorities allege Stoll breached the security barricades at the Capitol, but did not enter the building on Jan. 6.
According to court documents, Stoll attended the rally and eventually went with other rioters past police barricades that had been torn down. He recorded videos showing this and posted them online.
Federal prosecutors have said Stoll declared in one video taken Jan. 6, “D.C.’s a war zone!...You ain’t got enough cops, baby! We are at war at the Capitol…. We have taken the Capitol. This is our country.”
When one online viewer said they’d saved his video, Stoll warned that if the viewer took action to “ever jeopardize me, from being with my family,” then the person would meet his or her “maker,” and that he would be the one to “arrange the meeting.”
Pennsylvania
Judge asked to bar use of suspect’s statements in murders
HOLLIDAYSBURG, Pa. (AP) — A Philadelphia man charged in a double murder in central Pennsylvania two years ago is asking a judge to bar prosecutors from using statements he said he made to police while dealing with drug withdrawal symptoms.
Isiah Payne, 34, is charged in the deaths of 28-year-old Mikal Jackson-Stevenson and 52-year-old Natalie Washington in Altoona in May 2020. Prosecutors have said they plan to seek the death penalty if he is convicted of first-degree murder.
Payne told a Blair County judge Tuesday that he regularly took pain medication and failure to do so left him irritable and unable to concentrate, The (Altoona) Mirror reported. He said he took a tablet while in police custody but it was wearing off as he was questioned by police.
Altoona police officers, however, told the judge that they saw no evidence of the alleged withdrawal symptoms, saying Payne was calm and coherent and answered every question.
Prosecutors allege that Payne killed the victims during a dispute over drug sales. His trial is scheduled to begin in December. Defense attorney Richard Corcoran challenged the legality of using Payne’s statements to police and has raised other objections in pretrial motions that the judge will rule on later.
