National Roundup

Florida
Man suspected of dismembering body dies of self-inflicted gunshot wound
INVERNESS, Fla. (AP) — A 75-year-old man suspected in the dismembering death of a man at a home in north Florida has died, sheriff’s officials said.

Someone called deputies about a possible murder at a home in Inverness, which is 75 miles (121 kilometers) north of Tampa, the Citrus County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement on Saturday.

They knocked on the door and announced themselves, but got no answer. Deputies then began checking the home’s perimeter, the statement said.

In the backyard, they saw a large butcher-style knife, along with blood and drag marks on the ground.

The deputies continued trying to contact Jonathan Dimick Sr., 75, who they now considered a suspect in a crime, the statement said.

Deputies entered the home and found Dimick sitting in his living room. He was unresponsive, with an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound to the abdomen. He was given emergency medical treatment and taken by helicopter to a hospital where he later died of his injuries, the statement said.

A further investigation led deputies to the dismembered body of a man in the trunk of a vehicle at the home.

The statement offered no details about the man, how he may have known Dimick, or when he was killed.

New Mexico
State high court reprimands judge who advised prosecutors in case involving his daughter
SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — The New Mexico Supreme Court has publicly censured a state judge in Las Cruces for providing advice to prosecutors during a 2021 trial of a man accused of pointing an assault rifle at the judge’s daughter.

Third District Judge James Martin also was censured for allowing his daughter to wait in his chambers before she testified at the trial — which a visiting judge presided over after Martin had recused himself — and for having an inappropriate conversation with the prosecutors after Robert Burnham was convicted of aggravated assault by use of a firearm.

Martin accepted the court’s decision, the Supreme Court said. It said Martin “denied committing willful misconduct” but “viewed through the lens of hindsight ... recognizes the potential for appearance of impropriety based upon his conduct.”

The justices said their decision, reached Nov. 13, was not selected for publication in the formal New Mexico Appellate Records. But it was made public this week and will be published in the New Mexico Bar Bulletin.

Martin did not immediately respond Thursday to The Associated Press’ requests for comment sent in an email and left in a telephone message at his office at the court, which was closed for the Thanksgiving holiday.

Burnham is appealing the conviction stemming from a 2018 incident outside a Las Cruces bar he owned. He told police that he had recently won the rifle in a raffle and was just moving it inside his car.

The Supreme Court said after the first day of the two-day jury trial in 2021 — heard by Judge Steven Blankinship of the 12th District — that Martin telephoned Assistant District Attorney Samuel Rosten and told him he should use the phrase “brandished a firearm” in his jury instructions instead of “pointed a firearm” at the alleged victim, Martin’s daughter.

The next day the prosecution followed that advice.

Following the conviction, Martin inquired as to whether Burnham had been remanded to custody while awaiting sentencing. When Martin learned that he had, he told the prosecutors, “Good thing he was remanded, otherwise I would have told you to go back in there and try again.”

Martin improperly allowed his daughter to be present for that conversation. He also improperly allowed his daughter to wait in his chambers down the hall while waiting to be called as a witness at the trial, the high court said.

The justices said Martin originally provided advice to the prosecutors because he recognized a legitimate mistake of law in their proposed jury instructions.

“Judge Martin believed that he was acting in his daughter’s best interest by pointing out the mistake. Judge Martin’s actions created an appearance of impropriety, which should not be ignored,” Chief Justice C. Shannon Bacon wrote in the decision joined by the four other justices.

“We issue this censure not only to remind judges of their responsibility to avoid the appearance of impropriety but also to ensure the public that our legal system is committed to maintaining an independent, fair and impartial judiciary under the law,” they said.

California
Man recorded video as he shot a homeless man
SANTA ANA, Calif. (AP) — A Southern California man recorded video as he fatally shot a homeless man who threw a shoe at him after being awakened while sleeping on a sidewalk, prosecutors said.

Craig Sumner Elliott, 68, of Garden Grove, California, was charged with felony voluntary manslaughter and an enhancement for personal use of a firearm, the Orange County District Attorney’s Office said in a statement Monday.

The shooting occurred around 3 p.m. on Sept. 28 as Elliott jogged with two dogs while pushing a pushcart in Garden Grove and encountered Antonio Garcia Avalos, 40, sleeping in the middle of the sidewalk, the statement said.

Elliott allegedly used the pushcart to nudge Avalos, who woke up and yelled at Elliott to get away from him. Elliot, who had an active concealed carry permit issued by the Orange County Sheriff’s Department, grabbed a handgun from his pushcart, it said.

“Video taken by Elliott captured Avalos standing up and throwing a shoe at Elliott, who ducks to avoid the shoe and shoots Avalos three times,” the statement said. “Avalos later died from his injuries.”

Telephone messages seeking comment on the allegations were left Wednesday at two possible listings for Elliott. Several other possible phone numbers were disconnected or rang unanswered. An email to a possible address for Elliott was not immediately returned. It was not known whether Elliott had an attorney. The prosecution statement did not indicate whether Elliott has legal representation. Calls to the district attorney’s office were not immediately returned.

Elliott was arrested on a warrant by Garden Grove police on Nov. 17 and was released after posting $100,000 bail, prosecutors said. His arraignment was scheduled for Dec. 15. He faces a maximum sentence of 21 years in state prison if convicted on all charges.