Mississippi
Parents of football player who died sue school district
JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — The parents of a Mississippi high school football player have filed a lawsuit against a school district after the teenager died following a collapse during practice in 2022.
Phillip and Ashanta Laster, of Pearl, filed the lawsuit on Jan. 11 in federal court for the Southern District of Mississippi. It names Rankin County School District as the sole defendant.
The Lasters’ 17-year-old son, Phillip “Trey” Laster, died from a cardiac arrhythmia after collapsing during an afternoon football practice at Brandon High School on Aug. 1, 2022.
“No child should ever be in danger of losing their life in pursuit of a passion, especially under the supervision and instruction of adults who should know when to stop pushing these young athletes,” attorney Benjamin Crump said in a news release. “Trey’s tragic death could have been, and should have been, prevented by those in charge, and shows a troubling lack of adherence to guidelines surrounding heat exhaustion prevention.”
Laster’s death occurred during the hottest part of the day. According to the complaint, as soon as he arrived at practice, his coaches immediately ordered him to do wind sprints. While he was running, Laster began exhibiting signs of heat exhaustion that included stumbling and becoming dizzy and nauseous, the complaint says. Ultimately, Laster vomited and then passed out due to the extreme conditions and his coaches’ failure to properly adjust the training to the environment and his high-risk factors, the lawsuit said.
According to the complaint, because it was the first day of practice, the football players had not gone through a two-week acclimatization to the heat. Laster, a 6-foot-1, 328-pound lineman, was at higher risk for heat exhaustion and heat stroke.
“On the first day of practice, Trey was required to do wind sprints for a lengthy period of time without any breaks despite Trey’s obvious need for hydration and rest,” the lawsuit contends “RCSD did not modify their practices in light of the conditions and did not suspend all conditioning during this period. Trey should not have been subjected to any conditioning on the first day of practice let alone at a time when the heat index was over 103 ... RCSD’s deliberate failures led to Trey’s preventable death.”
When Laster passed out, the school did not have any exertional heat stroke preventive measures on the field, such as ice baths, and did not begin implementing any common prevention procedures. Instead, school district employees placed Laster in the back of a pickup truck, which only increased his body heat, the complaint contends.
According to the complaint, inadequate heat prevention and response led to Laster passing away shortly thereafter.
“Just days before Trey’s death, the Mississippi High School Activities Association and the National Federation of High Schools, of which the Rankin County School District is a member, provided numerous warnings of EHS (exertional heat stroke), identified the risks to lower the chances of EHS, and provided specific instructions on the type of EHS preventive measures that are best to be present at each practice and sporting event,” according to the complaint.
A telephone message left for the school district’s attorney, Fred Harrell, for comment on the lawsuit was not immediately returned.
California
Man pleads guilty to kidnapping teenage girl whose ‘Help Me!’ sign led to rescue
LOS ANGELES (AP) — A Texas man has pleaded guilty to kidnapping a 13-year-old girl who was rescued in Southern California when a passerby saw her hold up a “Help Me!” sign in a parked car.
A statement Friday from the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Central District of California said Steven Robert Sablan, 62, of Cleburne, Texas, admitted in a plea agreement that he sexually assaulted the victim while driving her from Texas to California.
The girl was rescued July 9 in Long Beach, south of Los Angeles, after a passerby called 911 to report seeing her hold up the piece of paper with the handwritten desperate plea for help.
Sablan, who has been in federal custody since July 2023, pleaded guilty to one count of kidnapping, prosecutors said.
His attorney, Deputy Federal Public Defender Nadine Hettle, declined to comment Saturday.
In July, Sablan was indicted by a federal grand jury on charges of kidnapping and transportation of a minor with intent to engage in criminal sexual activity.
An FBI agent wrote in an affidavit supporting the criminal complaint that the girl was walking down a street in San Antonio on July 6 when Sablan drove up, raised a black handgun and told her, “If you don’t get in the car with me, I am going to hurt you.”
A sentencing hearing was set for Oct. 25. Sablan will face a mandatory minimum of 20 years in federal prison and a maximum sentence of life.
Kansas
Couple charged with collecting man’s retirement while keeping his body in their home 6 years
OVERLAND PARK, Kan. (AP) — A Kansas couple has been charged with fraudulently collecting more than $215,000 in retirement benefits on behalf of a dead relative while they concealed his body inside their home for six years.
Authorities say Mike Carroll’s pacemaker showed that he died in 2016 at age 81, but Overland Park police didn’t discover his body until 2022 after his son-in-law, Kirk Ritter, called police to report his death in the Kansas City suburb.
Prosecutors say Lynn Ritter and Kirk Ritter, both 61, continued depositing and spending from Carroll’s bank account even while his body became “mummified” on a bed in the home he owned. Lynn Ritter is Carroll’s daughter.
Family members told the Kansas City Star that the Ritters would repeatedly give them excuses about why Carroll could never take a phone call or visit while leading them to believe that Carroll was still alive.
The couple is due to appear in federal court to face several charges on Feb. 2. They didn’t respond to phone and email messages from the newspaper, and court documents do not list a defense attorney representing them.
Prosecutors said the pension and Social Security payments Carroll received over the six years after his death totaled $216,067. But bank records from that time showed checks being written from his bank account and cashed by Lynn and Kirk Ritter.
Ohio
2nd suspect convicted of kidnapping, robbery in 2021 slaying of imam
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — A second man has been convicted on charges stemming from the death of an Ohio religious leader authorities said was killed in a botched robbery attempt.
Isaiah Brown-Miller, 23, was convicted Friday of kidnapping and aggravated robbery charges in his third trial in the December 2021 death of 48-year-old Columbus imam Mohamed Hassan Adam, a prominent figure in the Somali community. A co-defendant was earlier convicted of murder in the case.
Jurors in Franklin County deliberated for about 14 hours over two days and twice reported an impasse before arriving at the guilty verdicts, the Columbus Dispatch reported. The judge revoked his bail and will sentence him to prison at a later date. Earlier trials in February and June had ended in mistrials after jurors were unable to reach a verdict.
Adam, a longtime imam at Masjid Abu Hurairah mosque on the northeast side of Columbus, was found dead of multiple gunshots in a van in December 2021, two days after he went missing during a trip to pick up a child from day care.
Franklin County prosecutors alleged during the trials of the two men that the defendants were trying to get money from Adam and possibly from the mosque’s funds to which the imam had access. Investigators said earlier there was no indication Adam was targeted because of his faith or because he was a member of the Somali community.
Defense attorney Toure McCord had sought dismissal of the charges after the second mistrial, saying it was unlikely any jury would convict his client. He said in final arguments in the third trial that prosecutors had failed to prove that his client was involved in any way and pointed to several people he said could be alternative suspects.
Brown-Miller was not charged with murder in the case. Another jury in October convicted his codefendant, 47-year-old John Wooden, of aggravated murder, kidnapping, aggravated robbery, and other charges in Adam’s death. He faces a mandatory life term in prison and at least 20 years before being eligible for parole.
One of his attorneys, Paul Scarsella, alleged that the prosecution’s case against Wooden was built on assumptions and police failed to follow all leads.
Ohio
DOJ, 3 more states and D.C. join lawsuit against NCAA transfer rules
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — The Department of Justice, three more states and the District of Columbia have joined a lawsuit against the NCAA’s transfer eligibility rule.
The federal agency signed on to the action, saying in its announcement this week that the NCAA rule on transfers is “an illegal restraint on college athletes’ ability to sell their image and likeness and control their education.”
The DOJ said attorneys general from the states of Minnesota, Mississippi, Virginia, and the District of Columbia have also signed on to the suit.
“There is strength in numbers,” said Ohio attorney general Dave Yost, who along with six other states, filed the original suit on Dec. 7 in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of West Virginia.
An email from the NCAA to The Associated Press on Friday referred to its last public statement on Dec. 15 and said the organization would have no additional comment at this time.
The states are challenging the NCAA rule that athletes who want to make a second transfer in Division I must wait a year before competing in their sport.
The lawsuit, which alleges the NCAA transfer rule’s waiver process violates federal antitrust law, could have a profound impact on college sports if successful. In court documents, the NCAA has said the plaintiffs “seek to remake collegiate athletics and replace it with a system of perpetual and unchecked free agency.”
On Dec. 13, U.S. District Judge John Preston Bailey in West Virginia issued a temporary restraining order against the NCAA that has since been extended to a preliminary injunction that prohibits the NCAA from enforcing the rule and allowing college athletes to compete without fear of retaliation from the association.
The preliminary injunction will run through at least the end of the 2023-24 academic year, ensuring that winter and spring athletes can complete their seasons free from the rule’s restrictions.
A trial date in the case has yet to be scheduled. Along with Ohio, the other states on the original lawsuit are Colorado, Illinois, New York, North Carolina, Tennessee and West Virginia.
Parents of football player who died sue school district
JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — The parents of a Mississippi high school football player have filed a lawsuit against a school district after the teenager died following a collapse during practice in 2022.
Phillip and Ashanta Laster, of Pearl, filed the lawsuit on Jan. 11 in federal court for the Southern District of Mississippi. It names Rankin County School District as the sole defendant.
The Lasters’ 17-year-old son, Phillip “Trey” Laster, died from a cardiac arrhythmia after collapsing during an afternoon football practice at Brandon High School on Aug. 1, 2022.
“No child should ever be in danger of losing their life in pursuit of a passion, especially under the supervision and instruction of adults who should know when to stop pushing these young athletes,” attorney Benjamin Crump said in a news release. “Trey’s tragic death could have been, and should have been, prevented by those in charge, and shows a troubling lack of adherence to guidelines surrounding heat exhaustion prevention.”
Laster’s death occurred during the hottest part of the day. According to the complaint, as soon as he arrived at practice, his coaches immediately ordered him to do wind sprints. While he was running, Laster began exhibiting signs of heat exhaustion that included stumbling and becoming dizzy and nauseous, the complaint says. Ultimately, Laster vomited and then passed out due to the extreme conditions and his coaches’ failure to properly adjust the training to the environment and his high-risk factors, the lawsuit said.
According to the complaint, because it was the first day of practice, the football players had not gone through a two-week acclimatization to the heat. Laster, a 6-foot-1, 328-pound lineman, was at higher risk for heat exhaustion and heat stroke.
“On the first day of practice, Trey was required to do wind sprints for a lengthy period of time without any breaks despite Trey’s obvious need for hydration and rest,” the lawsuit contends “RCSD did not modify their practices in light of the conditions and did not suspend all conditioning during this period. Trey should not have been subjected to any conditioning on the first day of practice let alone at a time when the heat index was over 103 ... RCSD’s deliberate failures led to Trey’s preventable death.”
When Laster passed out, the school did not have any exertional heat stroke preventive measures on the field, such as ice baths, and did not begin implementing any common prevention procedures. Instead, school district employees placed Laster in the back of a pickup truck, which only increased his body heat, the complaint contends.
According to the complaint, inadequate heat prevention and response led to Laster passing away shortly thereafter.
“Just days before Trey’s death, the Mississippi High School Activities Association and the National Federation of High Schools, of which the Rankin County School District is a member, provided numerous warnings of EHS (exertional heat stroke), identified the risks to lower the chances of EHS, and provided specific instructions on the type of EHS preventive measures that are best to be present at each practice and sporting event,” according to the complaint.
A telephone message left for the school district’s attorney, Fred Harrell, for comment on the lawsuit was not immediately returned.
California
Man pleads guilty to kidnapping teenage girl whose ‘Help Me!’ sign led to rescue
LOS ANGELES (AP) — A Texas man has pleaded guilty to kidnapping a 13-year-old girl who was rescued in Southern California when a passerby saw her hold up a “Help Me!” sign in a parked car.
A statement Friday from the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Central District of California said Steven Robert Sablan, 62, of Cleburne, Texas, admitted in a plea agreement that he sexually assaulted the victim while driving her from Texas to California.
The girl was rescued July 9 in Long Beach, south of Los Angeles, after a passerby called 911 to report seeing her hold up the piece of paper with the handwritten desperate plea for help.
Sablan, who has been in federal custody since July 2023, pleaded guilty to one count of kidnapping, prosecutors said.
His attorney, Deputy Federal Public Defender Nadine Hettle, declined to comment Saturday.
In July, Sablan was indicted by a federal grand jury on charges of kidnapping and transportation of a minor with intent to engage in criminal sexual activity.
An FBI agent wrote in an affidavit supporting the criminal complaint that the girl was walking down a street in San Antonio on July 6 when Sablan drove up, raised a black handgun and told her, “If you don’t get in the car with me, I am going to hurt you.”
A sentencing hearing was set for Oct. 25. Sablan will face a mandatory minimum of 20 years in federal prison and a maximum sentence of life.
Kansas
Couple charged with collecting man’s retirement while keeping his body in their home 6 years
OVERLAND PARK, Kan. (AP) — A Kansas couple has been charged with fraudulently collecting more than $215,000 in retirement benefits on behalf of a dead relative while they concealed his body inside their home for six years.
Authorities say Mike Carroll’s pacemaker showed that he died in 2016 at age 81, but Overland Park police didn’t discover his body until 2022 after his son-in-law, Kirk Ritter, called police to report his death in the Kansas City suburb.
Prosecutors say Lynn Ritter and Kirk Ritter, both 61, continued depositing and spending from Carroll’s bank account even while his body became “mummified” on a bed in the home he owned. Lynn Ritter is Carroll’s daughter.
Family members told the Kansas City Star that the Ritters would repeatedly give them excuses about why Carroll could never take a phone call or visit while leading them to believe that Carroll was still alive.
The couple is due to appear in federal court to face several charges on Feb. 2. They didn’t respond to phone and email messages from the newspaper, and court documents do not list a defense attorney representing them.
Prosecutors said the pension and Social Security payments Carroll received over the six years after his death totaled $216,067. But bank records from that time showed checks being written from his bank account and cashed by Lynn and Kirk Ritter.
Ohio
2nd suspect convicted of kidnapping, robbery in 2021 slaying of imam
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — A second man has been convicted on charges stemming from the death of an Ohio religious leader authorities said was killed in a botched robbery attempt.
Isaiah Brown-Miller, 23, was convicted Friday of kidnapping and aggravated robbery charges in his third trial in the December 2021 death of 48-year-old Columbus imam Mohamed Hassan Adam, a prominent figure in the Somali community. A co-defendant was earlier convicted of murder in the case.
Jurors in Franklin County deliberated for about 14 hours over two days and twice reported an impasse before arriving at the guilty verdicts, the Columbus Dispatch reported. The judge revoked his bail and will sentence him to prison at a later date. Earlier trials in February and June had ended in mistrials after jurors were unable to reach a verdict.
Adam, a longtime imam at Masjid Abu Hurairah mosque on the northeast side of Columbus, was found dead of multiple gunshots in a van in December 2021, two days after he went missing during a trip to pick up a child from day care.
Franklin County prosecutors alleged during the trials of the two men that the defendants were trying to get money from Adam and possibly from the mosque’s funds to which the imam had access. Investigators said earlier there was no indication Adam was targeted because of his faith or because he was a member of the Somali community.
Defense attorney Toure McCord had sought dismissal of the charges after the second mistrial, saying it was unlikely any jury would convict his client. He said in final arguments in the third trial that prosecutors had failed to prove that his client was involved in any way and pointed to several people he said could be alternative suspects.
Brown-Miller was not charged with murder in the case. Another jury in October convicted his codefendant, 47-year-old John Wooden, of aggravated murder, kidnapping, aggravated robbery, and other charges in Adam’s death. He faces a mandatory life term in prison and at least 20 years before being eligible for parole.
One of his attorneys, Paul Scarsella, alleged that the prosecution’s case against Wooden was built on assumptions and police failed to follow all leads.
Ohio
DOJ, 3 more states and D.C. join lawsuit against NCAA transfer rules
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — The Department of Justice, three more states and the District of Columbia have joined a lawsuit against the NCAA’s transfer eligibility rule.
The federal agency signed on to the action, saying in its announcement this week that the NCAA rule on transfers is “an illegal restraint on college athletes’ ability to sell their image and likeness and control their education.”
The DOJ said attorneys general from the states of Minnesota, Mississippi, Virginia, and the District of Columbia have also signed on to the suit.
“There is strength in numbers,” said Ohio attorney general Dave Yost, who along with six other states, filed the original suit on Dec. 7 in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of West Virginia.
An email from the NCAA to The Associated Press on Friday referred to its last public statement on Dec. 15 and said the organization would have no additional comment at this time.
The states are challenging the NCAA rule that athletes who want to make a second transfer in Division I must wait a year before competing in their sport.
The lawsuit, which alleges the NCAA transfer rule’s waiver process violates federal antitrust law, could have a profound impact on college sports if successful. In court documents, the NCAA has said the plaintiffs “seek to remake collegiate athletics and replace it with a system of perpetual and unchecked free agency.”
On Dec. 13, U.S. District Judge John Preston Bailey in West Virginia issued a temporary restraining order against the NCAA that has since been extended to a preliminary injunction that prohibits the NCAA from enforcing the rule and allowing college athletes to compete without fear of retaliation from the association.
The preliminary injunction will run through at least the end of the 2023-24 academic year, ensuring that winter and spring athletes can complete their seasons free from the rule’s restrictions.
A trial date in the case has yet to be scheduled. Along with Ohio, the other states on the original lawsuit are Colorado, Illinois, New York, North Carolina, Tennessee and West Virginia.
