New Mexico
Authorities: Judge, husband die in likely murder-suicide
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — A municipal judge in New Mexico appears to have been fatally shot by her husband before he killed himself, authorities said.
Bernalillo County sheriff's deputies found the bodies of Diane Albert, 65, and Eric Pinkerton, 63, several dogs and a cat on Friday at their home in the Village of Los Ranchos, sheriff's spokeswoman Jayme Fuller said. She said Pinkerton apparently shot and killed them all before taking his own life.
Albert was a municipal judge for the Village of Los Ranchos, which borders Albuquerque, and was a former planning and zoning commissioner for the North Valley community. She also had served as a Los Alamos County commissioner and president of the Bike Coalition of New Mexico, according to the Albuquerque Journal.
Fuller said a friend of the couple contacted the sheriff's office sometime before 4 p.m. on Friday "after receiving a troubling message" from Pinkerton. In the message, she said, Pinkerton stated that he had shot his wife and dogs and was going to kill himself.
The state auditor, Brian S. Colon, said in a Facebook post Saturday that Albert had been his friend for decades — "a kindhearted soul who always uplifted me and others." He said she "always entered our home with a smile and usually wearing her bicycle helmet."
"We are heartsick hearing the news of this senseless tragedy," Los Ranchos Administrator Ann Simon said. "Diane Albert, our elected municipal judge, was a longtime Los Ranchos resident, a brilliant mind, and a friend. We can't ignore that this happened on the International Day for Elimination of Violence Against Women."
Florida
Judge accepts insanity plea deal for man in face-biting case
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) — A judge accepted a plea deal Monday for a man who randomly killed a Florida couple in their garage six years ago and then chewed on one victim's face that will send him to a mental hospital for treatment.
Austin Harrouff, 25, pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity to two counts of first-degree murder and other charges for the 2016 slayings of John Stevens, 59, and his wife, Michelle Mishcon Stevens, 53.
The agreement worked out between the defense and prosecution avoids a trial that had been scheduled to start Monday before Circuit Judge Sherwood Bauer and had been expected to last three weeks.
Harrouff will be committed to a secure mental hospital until doctors and a judge agree that he is no longer dangerous. If the trial had gone forward, Harrouff could have faced life in prison.
The trial for the former Florida State University student had been delayed by the pandemic, legal wrangling and Harrouff's recovery from critical injuries suffered while drinking a chemi
Defendants are presumed sane under Florida law, meaning that Harrouff had to show he had a severe mental breakdown that prevented him from understanding actions or that they were even wrong by "clear and convincing" evidence.
He has claimed he was fleeing a demon when the attack happened.
Harrouff's parents, who are divorced, and others said he had acted strangely for weeks. His parents had set up an appointment for him to be evaluated, but the attack occurred first.
New York
Mother charged with murder in stabbings of her 2 boys in NYC
NEW YORK (AP) — A mother has been charged with murder in the stabbings of two small children in a Bronx apartment, police said Monday.
Dimone Fleming, 22, is accused of killing 11-month-old Octavius Fleming-Canada and 3-year-old Dashawn Fleming, who were found with multiple stab wounds on Saturday in the apartment in the Mount Hope neighborhood were the family had been living. The children were pronounced dead at a hospital.
Fleming, the boys' mother, was taken to a hospital for a psychiatric evaluation and arrested there Sunday, police said in a news release. It wasn't clear if Fleming had an attorney who could comment on the charges against her.
Fleming's father, Dwane Fleming, told the Daily News that his daughter was suffering from postpartum depression, a condition the young mother had been hoping to treat.
"Dimone was going through some stuff," Dwane Fleming said. "And my sister said she will take the kids and that Dimone is going to the hospital and we'll get some help for that. Dimone wanted to get treatment for herself."
Another family member told the newspaper that Fleming had recently become obsessed about demons.
"She thought the kids were devils. She said she was afraid of them," said Casey Canada, Octavius' great-aunt, who looked after both boys. Canada said Fleming loved her children but "she just snapped."
The Daily News reported that Octavius' father, Columbus Canada, 31, told police he had been staying in his car after getting into a fight with Fleming the night before, and returned home Saturday night to find the boys' lifeless bodies.
Nevada
5 years prison, $2.5M restitution for Las Vegas COVID fraud
LAS VEGAS (AP) — A Las Vegas man has been sentenced to five years in prison and ordered to pay more than $2.5 million in restitution for bilking the government out of millions of dollars in federal loans and COVID-relief funds during the pandemic two years ago.
Federal prosecutors say Jorge Abramovs, 40, participated in a scheme to defraud multiple financial institutions out of more than $1.9 million in loans and collecting more than $350,000 from employees as income then never paid the taxes due.
He spent the money on purchases for himself, including luxury condominiums, a Bentley and a Tesla passenger vehicle, prosecutors said.
Abramovs pleaded guilty earlier to multiple counts of bank fraud. Judge Richard Boulware II sentenced him last week in U.S. District Court in Las Vegas.
He was ordered to pay the restitution to the U.S. Small Business Administration, which had made the fraudulently obtained loans available under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act.
"The defendant defrauded a government program meant to help those in need while lining his own pockets and skirting his tax obligations," said IRS CI Assistant Special Agent in Charge Carissa Messick. "His failure to pay over the withheld taxes is a violation that IRS Criminal Investigation takes very seriously. Mr. Abramovs is being held accountable for his crimes."
