North Carolina
Convicted 1990s mail bomber resentenced
NEW BERN, N.C. (AP) — A man convicted of mail bombings in North Carolina’s capital city nearly three decades ago that severely injured his wife and damaged an office building has been resentenced to more prison time after two of his previous convictions were vacated.
Stephan M. Bullis should remain behind bars for another 10 years, U.S. Attorney Michael Easley Jr. said on Monday after Bullis was resentenced last week to 37 1/2 years in prison for the remaining four counts on which he was convicted in 1996.
A federal jury found Bullis guilty on counts related to mailing two pipe bombs he sent on or around July 7, 1995 to his then-wife, Tracy, who was an employee at Business Telecom Inc., a long-distance telephone company, and to another BTI employee.
The package mailed to his wife exploded as she opened it at the BTI building in Raleigh, severing most of her left hand, causing her other bodily injuries and significantly damaging the office building, court records show. The other package was later located at an out-of-service U.S. Postal Service parcel bin at Crabtree Valley Mall by postal workers and defused.
Bullis, now 58, attempted to kill his wife because he was in an extramarital affair and sought life-insurance proceeds, a court document said.
Bullis was originally sentenced to life in prison, followed by consecutive terms of 30 years and roughly 19 1/2 years.
But, last September, Flanagan vacated the two counts of using a destructive device during a crime of violence, citing case law that found the definition of a “crime of violence” unconstitutionally vague and thus such convictions invalid. That meant the mandatory sentences of 30 years and life in prison for those counts were voided, leaving only the 19 1/2-year sentence in place. Flanagan ordered a resentencing hearing, with probation officials recalculating a range for the remaining convictions.
During Friday’s hearing in New Bern, Flanagan agreed to a sentence above the guidelines, which prosecutors said was warranted. They pointed out that the judge at the original sentencing called the crime “heinous” and said Bullis had a “lack of remorse for his actions.
The crimes occurred only a few months after the bombing of the Oklahoma City federal building, which killed 168 people, and when the man known as the “Unabomber” was at-large, Easley said.
Bullis “knowingly risked harm to countless individuals and inflicted psychological trauma on numerous others,” Easley said in a news release. “This new sentence holds Bullis accountable for his horrific actions and keeps him behind bars where he belongs.”
Florida
Arrest warrant issued for rapper Kodak Black
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) — A Florida judge has issued an arrest warrant for rapper Kodak Black for failing a drug test while on bail for a drug charge, court records show.
The warrant was issued Thursday after Black, whose legal name is Bill Kapri, did not appear for a scheduled drug test in early February and then days later submitted a sample that tested positive for fentanyl, according to records.
Broward County Judge Barbara Duffy issued the warrant and wrote that the rapper had violated the conditions of his pretrial release for an oxycodone trafficking charge from July.
Black had pleaded not guilty to the trafficking charge. His attorney was not immediately available to comment on Sunday.
In January 2020, then-President Donald Trump commuted a three-year federal prison sentence the rapper had for falsifying documents used to buy weapons. Black had served about half his sentence.
Black is nominated for the iHeartRadio Music Awards’ hip-hop artist of the year and has sold more than 30 million singles, with massive hits such as “Super Gremlin,” which reached number three on the Billboard Hot 100 last year.
Alabama
Man charged in quadruple killing denied bond
BAY MINETTE, Ala. (AP) — A judge has denied bond for a man accused of killing his grandparents, his brother and a family friend in south Alabama.
Jared Smith-Bracy, 21, is charged with four counts of capital murder in the deaths Wednesday night in Daphne. He met briefly with his two court-appointed attorneys before the Friday bond hearing, and they entered a plea of not guilty by reason of mental disease or mental defect on his behalf, WKRG-TV reported.
Baldwin County Chief Assistant District Attorney Teresa Heinz asked for no bond, and the judge granted that request. But the judge said that could change as the investigation continues, the television station reported.
Police have said Smith-Bracy fatally shot his 72-year-old grandmother, Barbara Smith; his 27-year-old brother, Jeremy Smith; and 71-year-old family friend, Sheila Glover, whose bodies were found in the backyard of his grandparents’ home. He then used a pickaxe to beat his 80-year-old grandfather, Lenard Smith, to death inside a bedroom in the house, police said, according to WPMI-TV.
Smith-Bracy lived with his grandparents, who called police Wednesday morning because he had broken a door, WPMI-TV reported. He was charged with criminal mischief and got a ride home from a friend around 5 p.m. that day after bonding out of jail, police said. He then grabbed the friend’s handgun and began firing after forcing his way into the home, Daphne police Sgt. Jason Vannoy said.
Maryland
Man gets life for killing mother of Navy midshipman
ANNAPOLIS, Md. (AP) — A Maryland man convicted of fatally shooting the mother of a U.S. Naval Academy football player with a stray bullet was sentenced Friday to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
The Capital Gazette reports that Angelo Harrod’s life sentence was the maximum punishment sought in the case.
In December, a jury convicted Harrod, 31, of Annapolis, of charges including first-degree murder in the June 2021 shooting death of Michelle Cummings, the mother of Navy football player Trey Cummings.
Cummings, 57, of Houston, came to Annapolis with her husband to celebrate their son’s Naval Academy induction. Cummings and her husband were sitting on the patio of a nearby hotel when she was shot by the stray bullet.
Prosecutors said Harrod killed Cummings when he and a second, unnamed man fired at an occupied SUV. Authorities believe two people in the parked car appeared to be the intended victims.
During Harrod’s trial, neither prosecutors nor police named the second man linked to the shooting.
Defense attorney Howard Cardin said Harrod did not fire the bullet that killed Cummings.
Anne Arundel Circuit Judge Pamela Alban said she has “no doubt” that Harrod was responsible for the 2021 attack.
