Pennsylvania
DA drops plans to seek death penalty in theater shooting
YORK, Pa. (AP) — Prosecutors have dropped plans to seek the death penalty against a man accused of killing a man and wounding a woman when he opened fire inside a movie theater in Pennsylvania almost three years ago.
Anu-Malik Johnson, 23, is charged with first- and third-degree murder, aggravated assault, reckless endangering and related offenses in the December 2019 shooting of 22-year-old Andre White Jr. at Regal Cinemas 13 in West Manchester Township.
York County prosecutors told the court they planned to pursue capital punishment if he was convicted of first-degree murder. Two years ago, a judge declined to bar them from doing so, rejecting defense arguments alleging a lack of evidence and citing the defendant’s age.
The York Dispatch, however, reports that the district attorney’s office asked last week to withdraw its intent to seek the death penalty, citing a mitigation report submitted by the defense as well as “relevant case law and applicable jury instructions.”
Defense attorney Jonathan White hailed the decision, saying he had “hoped and believed” prosecutors would drop plans to seek capital punishment. “I believe they made the right decision,” he said while declining to talk about the contents of the mitigation report.
Kyle King, spokesperson for the district attorney’s office, declined comment, saying his office doesn’t comment on “pending matters.” he said.
Witnesses to the shooting told investigators that White had briefly spoken with Johnson and another man as he headed to his seat, but Johnson later approached the seated victim and opened fire, authorities said. Police said the victim was hit five times.
Authorities allege that the shooter continued to fire as he ran for the exit with his companion. Two bullets struck a woman seated in a row in front of the shooting victim, one injuring her shoulder and the other grazing her cheek, police said. Several other people were later charged with hindering apprehension and other counts in the case.
No trial date for Johnson has been set. White said he believed the case could go before a jury by March.
Florida
Trial delayed in killer-clown case after new disclosure
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) — The trial of a Florida woman accused of dressing up as clown in 1990 and fatally shooting the wife of a man she later married has been postponed following the disclosure of a law enforcement file containing information about other clown-sighting leads at the time.
Prosecutors informed defense attorneys for Sheila Keen Warren on Wednesday that they had found a “clown sighting file” which defense attorneys had been demanding but prosecutors had been saying they didn’t have, according to a court filing by defense attorneys in Palm Beach County case.
Defense attorneys in the motion asked for a delay in the first-degree murder trial which was scheduled to start the next week. The jury trial was canceled on Friday.
Defense attorneys also are seeking sanctions against prosecutors for what they say are instances of failing to disclose evidence to the defendant and are asking that Keen Warren be allowed pretrial release from jail.
The 25-page “clown sighting file” has the names, addresses or phone numbers of 40 credible leads, according to the court filing from defense attorneys.
“Needless to say this will take the defense considerable time and resources to investigate,” the defense attorneys said.
Marlene Warren was fatally shot in the face in May 1990 by someone in an orange wig, red nose and white face paint who handed her carnations and foil balloons after she answered the door of her upscale South Florida home.
Keen Warren was arrested in 2017 in Abingdon, Virginia. Detectives at the time said advances in DNA technology, combined with evidence gathered decades ago, showed Keen Warren was the killer. At the time of the shooting, she was an employee of Marlene Warren’s husband, Michael, at his used car lot. They married in 2002.
Keen Warren has pleaded not guilty.
Washington
Bail for custodian accused of voyeurism set at $500K
VANCOUVER, Wash. (AP) — A school custodian accused of secretly filming people in Vancouver, Washington, school restrooms for nearly a decade, has had bail set at $500,000.
James Mattson, 38, was booked into the Clark County Jail Thursday on suspicion of 137 counts of voyeurism. His bail was set Friday in Clark County Superior Court, The Columbian reported.
Senior Deputy Prosecutor Kasey Vu said investigators seized computers, cellphones, and other devices from Mattson’s Hazel Dell house and that the 137 counts are just from an initial review of the devices.
Most of the images investigators found showed people using a female staff restroom at Skyview High School since 2013. There was also at least one video of a girl getting dressed in front of a bay of lockers, Vu said.
Vu said investigators are working with Vancouver Public Schools to identify victims. Vancouver Public Schools said Thursday that Mattson is on unpaid leave pending dismissal proceedings.
Mattson’s attorney Erin McAleer said Friday he thinks “$500,000 (bail) should shock the court’s conscience as the ask in this case.”
McAleer noted the allegations against Mattson are nonviolent and that any potential additional charges were not yet before the judge. He added that Mattson went to the jail to turn himself in.
Mattson has worked for the school district since 2007 when he started as a substitute custodian and has worked at various schools.
According to court records, a criminal investigation began Oct. 5 after a woman dating Mattson reported finding a video on his computer of a girl changing clothes in a locker room.
New York
Head of zero-emission truck venture found guilty of fraud
NEW YORK (AP) — The wealthy founder of Nikola Corp. was convicted Friday of charges he deceived investors with exaggerated claims about his company’s progress in producing zero-emission 18-wheel trucks fueled by electricity or hydrogen.
A jury reached the verdict against Trevor Milton after deliberating for about five hours in federal court in Manhattan.
Milton’s lawyer, Marc Mukasey, signaled there would be an appeal.
“We’re going to keep fighting,” he told reporters outside court.
At trial, the government had portrayed Milton as a con man while his lawyer called him an inspiring visionary who was being railroaded by overzealous prosecutors.
Those prosecutors alleged that Nikola — founded by Milton in a Utah basement six years ago — falsely claimed to have built its own revolutionary truck that was actually a General Motors Corp. product with Nikola’s logo stamped onto it. There also was evidence that the company produced videos of its trucks that were doctored to hide their flaws.
Called as a government witness, Nikola’s CEO testified that Milton “was prone to exaggeration” in pitching his venture to investors.
“The lies — that is what this case is about,” prosecutor Matthew Podolsky told the jury in closing arguments Thursday.
Mukasey urged acquittal, saying there was “a stunning lack of evidence” that his client ever intended to cheat investors.
Milton, 40, had pleaded not guilty to securities and wire fraud. He resigned in 2020 amid reports of fraud that sent Nikola’s stock prices into a tailspin.
At one point, the trial was delayed for more than a week after Milton’s lawyer tested positive for the coronavirus.
Sentencing for Milton was set for Jan. 27.
Indiana
Man gets 86 years in prison for murder of pastor’s wife
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — A man found guilty of murder, robbery and other charges in the 2015 killing of an Indianapolis pastor’s wife during a break-in was sentenced Friday to 86 years in prison.
Larry Jo Taylor Jr. in September also was convicted after a four-day bench trial of burglary, theft, criminal confinement and carrying a handgun without a license in the slaying of Amanda Blackburn. He was acquitted of a robbery charge. His two jury trials ended in mistrials, most recently in June.
“Nearly seven years after this tragic and senseless murder, justice has been secured for Amanda,” Marion County Prosecutor Ryan Mears said. “I commend the Blackburn family and the community for the tremendous amount of patience and grace they have shown throughout this process. We hope that today’s resolution provides finality to a very difficult chapter.”
Taylor was one of three men police say were involved in a string of November 2015 home invasions on Indianapolis’ north side that ended when Amanda Blackburn, 28, was fatally shot in her home while 12 weeks pregnant with her second child.
She was slain two years after she and her husband, pastor Davey Blackburn, moved to Indianapolis from South Carolina to found Resonate Church, which was shuttered in 2019.
Taylor’s two co-defendants accepted plea deals on the condition they would cooperate in his prosecution. Jalen E. Watson pleaded guilty in 2017 to robbery and burglary charges. He was sentenced in March 2021 to 29 years for the robbery charge and 20 combined years for the burglary charges, and ordered to serve the sentences concurrently.
Diano Cortez Gordon pleaded guilty in 2018 to robbery resulting in serious bodily injury and burglary charges. Gordon was sentenced in September to 30 years in prison, with five years suspended.
Wyoming
Man gets 30 days for role in Capitol breach
CASPER, Wyo. (AP) — A former Wyoming man who climbed through a broken window at the U.S. Capitol during the Jan. 6, 2021 insurrection has been sentenced to 30 days in jail and ordered to pay $1,500 in fines and restitution.
Andrew Galloway, 34, pleaded guilty in March to a misdemeanor charge of parading, demonstrating or picketing inside the Capitol for entering the Capitol about 11 minutes after supporters of then-President Donald Trump were able to overpower Capitol police and break into the building.
Galloway spent about 10 minutes inside, according to prosecutors and his attorney.
He was sentenced Wednesday in federal court in Washington.
Galloway followed a crowd to the Capitol “with no intention of doing anything but having his voice join those of thousands of other peaceful protesters,” attorney Allen Orenberg wrote in requesting a probationary sentence. Galloway regrets his role in the events, his attorney wrote.
The FBI received a tip about Galloway’s participation in the breach, which happened as Congress was certifying the Electoral College votes that showed Joe Biden won the November 2020 presidential election over Trump. Investigators obtained a video that showed Galloway saying: “Yeah, that was us today; no that wasn’t Antifa,” court documents state.
Galloway, who previously lived in Cody, Wyoming, now lives in Nashville, Tennessee. He will be allowed to self-report to serve his jail time.
About 900 people have been arrested for their roles in the breach of the U.S. Capitol. More than 400 people have pleaded guilty to federal charges, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.
