South Carolina
Pristine bullet leads to man’s murder charge
COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — A woman killed while looking out the window of her South Carolina home was intentionally shot by a neighbor shooting at targets in his yard instead of by a ricocheting bullet as he told investigators, according to authorities.
The charge against the shooter was upgraded to murder on Monday. Crime scene technicians determined the fatal bullet could not have deflected at an angle off a satellite dish being used as a target and then struck the woman in the chest, prosecutor Barry Barnette said.
“You can see that bullet didn’t ricochet. That bullet is in pristine condition,” Barnette said, showing a judge a photo on his cellphone during a bond hearing in Cherokee County on Monday. He said the slug was removed from the victim’s chest during an autopsy.
Nicholas Skylar Lucas, 30, was initially charged with involuntary manslaughter on Sunday, a day after 42-year-old Kesha Luwan Lucille Tate died in her own Gaffney home.
But prosecutors upgraded the charge to murder after more evidence came in, Barnette said. Murder carries 30 years to life in a conviction, while involuntary manslaughter carries up to five years.
Tate had pulled back the curtain of her kitchen window and was looking out when she was shot, investigators said.
Lucas had to turn and intentionally fire in Tate’s direction to hit her and the bullet in Tate’s chest matched the size of the ammunition used in the .45-caliber handgun Lucas was firing, Barnette said.
Tate told the judge the shooting was a “complete accident” and he can’t believe anyone would think he would intentionally kill her.
“She always asked me for help I was always in my backyard. I’m really confused about this whole situation,’ Tate said. “I’ve done all kinds of yard work for this lady and everything.”
Several of Tate’s nine children were in the home and the father of some of those children died of a heart attack less than a year ago, her family said at the bond hearing.
“She doesn’t deserve to be gone from her children,” said Beverly Vercher, Tate’s sister.
Lucas is also charged with shooting under the influence and discharging a firearm into a dwelling.
Lucas didn’t have a lawyer at the hearing and a magistrate said a higher court will have to determine if bond should be set.
New York
Prosecutor insists yoga business founder is a risk to flee
NEW YORK (AP) — A prosecutor argued Wednesday that an international yoga business founder arrested on tax charges has a history of arrests, and is a flight risk and danger to prospective witnesses in the case against him, but a judge disagreed with a request to confine the man to his Washington home.
U.S. Magistrate Judge Jennifer E. Willis set bail for Gregory Gumucio at $250,000 and banned him from associating with those he once employed at “Yoga to the People.”
The business had operated about 20 locations in the United States, including in San Francisco, Berkeley and Oakland, California; Tempe, Arizona; Orlando, Florida; and cities in Colorado and Washington. It also had operated in Spain and Israel and was seeking to expand to other countries when it closed two years ago.
Gumucio was arrested last week on charges alleging that he failed to pay taxes for over a decade while running an international yoga company that generated over $20 million in revenue.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael D. Neff sought to boost bail conditions initially set in Washington when Gumucio was arrested last week, along with two others, including his romantic partner.
Neff wanted Gumucio to be subjected to home incarceration and location monitoring, and he requested a $1 million bail, saying evidence was overwhelming and Gumucio was eventually likely to spend years in prison.
He said Gumucio, 61, of Cathlamet, Washington, has been arrested 15 times and had in the past used at least six aliases, three Social Security numbers and given three places of birth.
And Neff said Gumucio has been arrested three times on accusations of flight or escape, though he didn’t say if any of the arrests resulted in convictions.
He also said that his mentor was a fugitive living in Mexico and that he also associated with a former member of organized crime who used to lurk around his business. And he said two former business associates had described menacing encounters with him that left them fearful after they quit his company.
In refusing some of the prosecutor’s requests, the judge noted that Gumucio’s last arrest prior to the new charges was in 1992, though she also said the bail conditions needed to be stricter than those imposed in Washington.
She ordered Gumucio to stay 60 miles (97 kilometers) away from the Canadian border and to also stay away from any airports.
Defense lawyer Marne Lenox had requested a $100,000 bail, rejecting the prosecutor’s claims that Gumucio has extensive ties abroad and generally portraying Neff’s claims as overblown.
Neff had asked that Gumucio be banned from having any firearms or explosives. “That is, quite frankly, overkill,” Lenox said.
She said he was a family man who was closely involved with his three children.
Alabama
Convicted sheriff cites judge’s status in challenging case
ATHENS, Ala. (AP) — The judge who sentenced a longtime Alabama sheriff to prison following his conviction on theft and ethics charges wasn’t licensed to practice law at the time, the defense argued in asking a court to overturn the verdict and punishment.
Attorneys for Mike Blakely, who was automatically removed as Limestone County sheriff because of his conviction last year, cited reporting by WAAY-TV in asking a court to set aside the case.
Pamela Baschab, a retired Jefferson County circuit judge, was appointed to preside over the Blakely case in February 2021 after every judge in Limestone County stepped aside. But Baschab’s law license lapsed the month before she took over despite a constitutional requirement that judges have a license, the defense argued.
Baschab was listed as “inactive” by the Alabama State Bar during the case, the defense said, so the conviction and sentence should be overturned.
The state didn’t file an immediate response to the motion, submitted late Wednesday. But Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall told the station that Blakely’s latest attempt to overturn his conviction was “meritless.”
Alabama Bar Association officials sent Baschab a letter saying a sitting judge is not required to be a member, but it also encouraged her to remain active. Bar Association communications director Melissa Warnke told WAAY-TV the organization believes Baschab “was acting in good faith.”
Blakely, who worked as sheriff almost 40 years, was accused of taking money from a jail safe that was used to hold inmates’ money and of depositing $4,000 in campaign funds into his personal account. He was sentenced to three years in jail but remains free on bond while appealing.
