Minnesota
Juror reports getting bag of $120,000 and promise of more if she will acquit
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — A juror was dismissed Monday after reporting that a woman dropped a bag of $120,000 in cash at her home and offered her more money if she would vote to acquit seven people charged with stealing more than $40 million from a program meant to feed children during the pandemic.
“This is completely beyond the pale,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Joseph Thompson said in court on Monday. “This is outrageous behavior. This is stuff that happens in mob movies.”
These seven are the first of 70 defendants expected to go to trial in a conspiracy that cost taxpayers $250 million. Eighteen others have pleaded guilty, and authorities said they recovered about $50 million in one of the nation’s largest pandemic-related fraud cases. Prosecutors say just a fraction of the money went to feed low-income kids, while the rest was spent on luxury cars, jewelry, travel and property.
During the trial that began in April, defense attorneys questioned the quality of the FBI’s investigation and suggested that this might be more of a case of record-keeping problems than fraud as these defendants sought to keep up with rapidly changing rules for the food aid program.
These seven initial defendants were affiliated with a restaurant that participated in the food aid program. Those still awaiting trial include Feeding our Future’s founder Aimee Bock, who has pleaded not guilty and denied any wrongdoing.
The 23-year-old juror said she immediately turned over the bag of cash to police. She said a woman left it with her father-in-law Sunday with the message that she’d get another bag of cash if she voted to acquit, according to a report in the Minneapolis Star Tribune.
Defense attorney Andrew Birrell told the judge that the bag of cash is “a troubling and upsetting accusation.”
Before allowing the trial to continue with more closing arguments on Monday, U.S. District Judge Nancy Brasel questioned the remaining 17 jurors and alternates, and none reported any unauthorized contact. She didn’t decide immediately whether to sequester the jury or detain the defendants, but she did order an FBI agent to confiscate the defendants’ phones.
The aid money came from the U.S. Department of Agriculture and was administered by the state Department of Education. Nonprofits and other partners under the program were supposed to serve meals to kids.
Two of the groups involved, Feeding Our Future and Partners in Nutrition, were small nonprofits before the pandemic, but in 2021 they disbursed around $200 million each. Prosecutors allege they produced invoices for meals that were never served, ran shell companies, laundered money, indulged in passport fraud and accepted kickbacks.
California
Poppi faces lawsuit from consumer who questions its gut health claims
Popular soda brand Poppi is facing a class-action lawsuit filed by a consumer who says its products don’t improve gut health as much as their marketing suggests.
In a lawsuit filed last week in U.S. District Court in San Francisco, Kristin Cobbs said she purchased Poppi drinks on multiple occasions because of their labels, which say they are prebiotic sodas and feature the slogan, “Be Gut Happy. Be Gut Healthy.”
But Cobbs later found that Poppi drinks contain only around 2 grams of prebiotic agave inulin fiber, which she said is insufficient to provide any real benefit. Cobbs cited research showing that consuming 7.5 grams of agave inulin daily for three weeks was insufficient to confer any meaningful prebiotic benefit.
If consumers drink more Poppi, any prebiotic benefits would be outweighed by increased sugar consumption, the lawsuit said.
Cobbs is seeking monetary relief for herself and similar customers.
The Associated Press sent an email message seeking comment to Poppi, which is based in Austin, Texas.
Poppi is one of dozens of brands in the exploding category of functional beverages, which claim to improve health and wellness. U.S. sales of prebiotic and probiotic drinks more than tripled last year, according to data compiled by consulting firm AlixPartners.
Connecticut
Man who shot black bear claims self defense, a year after a law was passed
CANTON, Conn. (AP) — Connecticut police were investigating the killing of a 450-pound, adult male black bear on Monday morning and claims by the shooter that it was done in self-defense.
The bear was killed after “reportedly feeding at an unsecured dumpster” in Canton, a community of about 10,000 people and about 13 miles (21 kilometers) northwest of Hartford, said Paul Copleman, a spokesperson for the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection. DEEP’s Environmental and Conservation Police officers is conducting the investigation.
The shooting comes a year after the General Assembly passed legislation that explicitly allows someone to use deadly force to kill a bear in Connecticut if they reasonably believe it’s inflicting or about to inflict great bodily harm to a person, a pet or is entering an occupied building.
Some state legislators, concerned about the increase in human and bear interactions in Connecticut, had hoped the legislation would have gone further and included a bear hunt and restrictions on people unintentionally feeding the hungry animals.
Copleman said this marks the second time someone has claimed self-defense in killing a bear since the law was enacted.
In recent years, bears have been spotted throughout Connecticut. In 2023, bears were reported in 165 of the state’s 169 cities and towns.
There were more than 200 bear sightings last year in Canton. During a live news report on Monday evening by WFSB-TV about the shooting, another black bear showed to check out the same row of dumpsters before returning to the woods.
Arizona
Judge to mull whether a border rancher can face new murder trial after dismissal
PHOENIX (AP) — The judge overseeing the case of an Arizona border rancher who was unsuccessfully tried in the fatal shooting of a Mexican man on his property said Monday he will mull whether to leave open the possibility of a new trial later.
Santa Cruz County Superior Court Judge Thomas Fink said he would consider the prosecution’s request to dismiss the case but leave the door open to another trial in case new evidence or witnesses emerge. It was unclear when the judge would decide.
Fink declared a mistrial on April 22 after jurors in the trial of George Alan Kelly were unable to reach a unanimous decision on a verdict.
Afterward, the Santa Cruz County Attorney’s Office had the option to retry Kelly — or to drop the case.
Deputy County Attorney Kimberly Hunley said the prosecution supported dismissing the case now, but want the option to retry it if circumstances change. She asked that the case be dismissed without prejudice, which would mean it could be brought back to court.
“Unknown witnesses may come forward,” said Hunley. “Known witnesses in Mexico may become available.”
Kelly’s defense attorney Brenna Larkin asked that the case to be dismissed with prejudice.
“It’s not appropriate to let the state fish for other witnesses,” said Larkin. “The state was presented with an adequate opportunity to present its evidence.”
The 75-year-old Kelly was on trial for nearly a month in Nogales, a city on the border with Mexico, in the death of 48-year-old Gabriel Cuen-Buitimea, who was fatally shot on Jan. 30, 2023. The rancher been charged with second-degree murder.
Cuen-Buitimea, who lived just south of the border in Nogales, Mexico, was in group of men that Kelly encountered that day on his cattle ranch.
Prosecutors had said Kelly recklessly fired nine shots from an AK-47 style rifle toward a group of men on his cattle ranch, including Cuen-Buitimea, about 100 yards (90 meters) away. Kelly has said he fired warning shots in the air, but argued he didn’t shoot directly at anyone.
The trial coincided with a presidential election year that has drawn widespread interest in border security. During it, court officials took jurors to Kelly’s ranch as well as a section of the U.S.-Mexico border.
Mississippi
Judge affirms lawsuit settlement filed by family of man who died after police pulled him from car
JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — A judge has ordered the enforcement of a lawsuit settlement between Mississippi’s capital city and the family of a man who died after police officers pulled him from a car while searching for a murder suspect.
George Robinson, 62, died in January 2019, days after the encounter with three Jackson police officers. His relatives sued the city in October 2019, saying Robinson was not the subject of any warrant and alleging the officers “brutally, viciously and mercilessly beat Mr. Robinson by striking and kicking him.”
The Jackson City Council on April 23 unanimously approved the payment of $17,786 to settle the lawsuit with Robinson’s relatives, including his sister Bettersten Wade. City documents said the settlement was not an admission of liability by the city or the three officers named in the suit. Robinson was Black, as are the three officers.
But Wade’s attorney, Dennis Sweet III, released a letter April 24 saying the city violated a confidentiality agreement that was part of the settlement. Sweet said that because of the public disclosure and because the city “appears to claim or infer some sort of perceived victory,” Wade would continue suing the city.
In a ruling Friday, Circuit Judge Faye Peterson wrote that she found “no merit” in arguments made by Sweet. Peterson wrote that the plaintiffs and the city had entered a legally binding settlement.
“Moreover, the City of Jackson cannot legally choose to keep settlements confidential, and this fact does not amount to some abstract form of fraudulent misrepresentation,” Peterson wrote.
Robinson had been hospitalized for a stroke days before the police encounter and was on medication, Wade has said. He had a seizure hours after he was beaten, and he died two days later from bleeding on his brain.
Second-degree murder charges against two of the officers were dropped in the case. In August 2022, a Hinds County jury convicted former detective Anthony Fox of culpable negligence manslaughter. In January of this year, the Mississippi Court of Appeals overturned Fox’s conviction. A majority of the appeals court wrote that prosecutors failed to prove Fox “acted in a grossly negligent manner” or that Robinson’s death “was reasonably foreseeable under the circumstances.”
Wade is the mother of Dexter Wade, who was run over by an off-duty Jackson Police Department officer in March 2023.
Dexter Wade was buried at the Hinds County Pauper’s Cemetery. But it was October before his mother was told about the burial. His body was exhumed Nov. 13, and an independent autopsy was conducted. A wallet found in the pocket of his jeans contained his state identification card with his home address, credit card and a health insurance card, said civil rights attorney Ben Crump, who is representing Wade’s family.
On Nov. 20, Dexter Wade’s family held a funeral for him, and he was buried in another cemetery.
Juror reports getting bag of $120,000 and promise of more if she will acquit
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — A juror was dismissed Monday after reporting that a woman dropped a bag of $120,000 in cash at her home and offered her more money if she would vote to acquit seven people charged with stealing more than $40 million from a program meant to feed children during the pandemic.
“This is completely beyond the pale,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Joseph Thompson said in court on Monday. “This is outrageous behavior. This is stuff that happens in mob movies.”
These seven are the first of 70 defendants expected to go to trial in a conspiracy that cost taxpayers $250 million. Eighteen others have pleaded guilty, and authorities said they recovered about $50 million in one of the nation’s largest pandemic-related fraud cases. Prosecutors say just a fraction of the money went to feed low-income kids, while the rest was spent on luxury cars, jewelry, travel and property.
During the trial that began in April, defense attorneys questioned the quality of the FBI’s investigation and suggested that this might be more of a case of record-keeping problems than fraud as these defendants sought to keep up with rapidly changing rules for the food aid program.
These seven initial defendants were affiliated with a restaurant that participated in the food aid program. Those still awaiting trial include Feeding our Future’s founder Aimee Bock, who has pleaded not guilty and denied any wrongdoing.
The 23-year-old juror said she immediately turned over the bag of cash to police. She said a woman left it with her father-in-law Sunday with the message that she’d get another bag of cash if she voted to acquit, according to a report in the Minneapolis Star Tribune.
Defense attorney Andrew Birrell told the judge that the bag of cash is “a troubling and upsetting accusation.”
Before allowing the trial to continue with more closing arguments on Monday, U.S. District Judge Nancy Brasel questioned the remaining 17 jurors and alternates, and none reported any unauthorized contact. She didn’t decide immediately whether to sequester the jury or detain the defendants, but she did order an FBI agent to confiscate the defendants’ phones.
The aid money came from the U.S. Department of Agriculture and was administered by the state Department of Education. Nonprofits and other partners under the program were supposed to serve meals to kids.
Two of the groups involved, Feeding Our Future and Partners in Nutrition, were small nonprofits before the pandemic, but in 2021 they disbursed around $200 million each. Prosecutors allege they produced invoices for meals that were never served, ran shell companies, laundered money, indulged in passport fraud and accepted kickbacks.
California
Poppi faces lawsuit from consumer who questions its gut health claims
Popular soda brand Poppi is facing a class-action lawsuit filed by a consumer who says its products don’t improve gut health as much as their marketing suggests.
In a lawsuit filed last week in U.S. District Court in San Francisco, Kristin Cobbs said she purchased Poppi drinks on multiple occasions because of their labels, which say they are prebiotic sodas and feature the slogan, “Be Gut Happy. Be Gut Healthy.”
But Cobbs later found that Poppi drinks contain only around 2 grams of prebiotic agave inulin fiber, which she said is insufficient to provide any real benefit. Cobbs cited research showing that consuming 7.5 grams of agave inulin daily for three weeks was insufficient to confer any meaningful prebiotic benefit.
If consumers drink more Poppi, any prebiotic benefits would be outweighed by increased sugar consumption, the lawsuit said.
Cobbs is seeking monetary relief for herself and similar customers.
The Associated Press sent an email message seeking comment to Poppi, which is based in Austin, Texas.
Poppi is one of dozens of brands in the exploding category of functional beverages, which claim to improve health and wellness. U.S. sales of prebiotic and probiotic drinks more than tripled last year, according to data compiled by consulting firm AlixPartners.
Connecticut
Man who shot black bear claims self defense, a year after a law was passed
CANTON, Conn. (AP) — Connecticut police were investigating the killing of a 450-pound, adult male black bear on Monday morning and claims by the shooter that it was done in self-defense.
The bear was killed after “reportedly feeding at an unsecured dumpster” in Canton, a community of about 10,000 people and about 13 miles (21 kilometers) northwest of Hartford, said Paul Copleman, a spokesperson for the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection. DEEP’s Environmental and Conservation Police officers is conducting the investigation.
The shooting comes a year after the General Assembly passed legislation that explicitly allows someone to use deadly force to kill a bear in Connecticut if they reasonably believe it’s inflicting or about to inflict great bodily harm to a person, a pet or is entering an occupied building.
Some state legislators, concerned about the increase in human and bear interactions in Connecticut, had hoped the legislation would have gone further and included a bear hunt and restrictions on people unintentionally feeding the hungry animals.
Copleman said this marks the second time someone has claimed self-defense in killing a bear since the law was enacted.
In recent years, bears have been spotted throughout Connecticut. In 2023, bears were reported in 165 of the state’s 169 cities and towns.
There were more than 200 bear sightings last year in Canton. During a live news report on Monday evening by WFSB-TV about the shooting, another black bear showed to check out the same row of dumpsters before returning to the woods.
Arizona
Judge to mull whether a border rancher can face new murder trial after dismissal
PHOENIX (AP) — The judge overseeing the case of an Arizona border rancher who was unsuccessfully tried in the fatal shooting of a Mexican man on his property said Monday he will mull whether to leave open the possibility of a new trial later.
Santa Cruz County Superior Court Judge Thomas Fink said he would consider the prosecution’s request to dismiss the case but leave the door open to another trial in case new evidence or witnesses emerge. It was unclear when the judge would decide.
Fink declared a mistrial on April 22 after jurors in the trial of George Alan Kelly were unable to reach a unanimous decision on a verdict.
Afterward, the Santa Cruz County Attorney’s Office had the option to retry Kelly — or to drop the case.
Deputy County Attorney Kimberly Hunley said the prosecution supported dismissing the case now, but want the option to retry it if circumstances change. She asked that the case be dismissed without prejudice, which would mean it could be brought back to court.
“Unknown witnesses may come forward,” said Hunley. “Known witnesses in Mexico may become available.”
Kelly’s defense attorney Brenna Larkin asked that the case to be dismissed with prejudice.
“It’s not appropriate to let the state fish for other witnesses,” said Larkin. “The state was presented with an adequate opportunity to present its evidence.”
The 75-year-old Kelly was on trial for nearly a month in Nogales, a city on the border with Mexico, in the death of 48-year-old Gabriel Cuen-Buitimea, who was fatally shot on Jan. 30, 2023. The rancher been charged with second-degree murder.
Cuen-Buitimea, who lived just south of the border in Nogales, Mexico, was in group of men that Kelly encountered that day on his cattle ranch.
Prosecutors had said Kelly recklessly fired nine shots from an AK-47 style rifle toward a group of men on his cattle ranch, including Cuen-Buitimea, about 100 yards (90 meters) away. Kelly has said he fired warning shots in the air, but argued he didn’t shoot directly at anyone.
The trial coincided with a presidential election year that has drawn widespread interest in border security. During it, court officials took jurors to Kelly’s ranch as well as a section of the U.S.-Mexico border.
Mississippi
Judge affirms lawsuit settlement filed by family of man who died after police pulled him from car
JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — A judge has ordered the enforcement of a lawsuit settlement between Mississippi’s capital city and the family of a man who died after police officers pulled him from a car while searching for a murder suspect.
George Robinson, 62, died in January 2019, days after the encounter with three Jackson police officers. His relatives sued the city in October 2019, saying Robinson was not the subject of any warrant and alleging the officers “brutally, viciously and mercilessly beat Mr. Robinson by striking and kicking him.”
The Jackson City Council on April 23 unanimously approved the payment of $17,786 to settle the lawsuit with Robinson’s relatives, including his sister Bettersten Wade. City documents said the settlement was not an admission of liability by the city or the three officers named in the suit. Robinson was Black, as are the three officers.
But Wade’s attorney, Dennis Sweet III, released a letter April 24 saying the city violated a confidentiality agreement that was part of the settlement. Sweet said that because of the public disclosure and because the city “appears to claim or infer some sort of perceived victory,” Wade would continue suing the city.
In a ruling Friday, Circuit Judge Faye Peterson wrote that she found “no merit” in arguments made by Sweet. Peterson wrote that the plaintiffs and the city had entered a legally binding settlement.
“Moreover, the City of Jackson cannot legally choose to keep settlements confidential, and this fact does not amount to some abstract form of fraudulent misrepresentation,” Peterson wrote.
Robinson had been hospitalized for a stroke days before the police encounter and was on medication, Wade has said. He had a seizure hours after he was beaten, and he died two days later from bleeding on his brain.
Second-degree murder charges against two of the officers were dropped in the case. In August 2022, a Hinds County jury convicted former detective Anthony Fox of culpable negligence manslaughter. In January of this year, the Mississippi Court of Appeals overturned Fox’s conviction. A majority of the appeals court wrote that prosecutors failed to prove Fox “acted in a grossly negligent manner” or that Robinson’s death “was reasonably foreseeable under the circumstances.”
Wade is the mother of Dexter Wade, who was run over by an off-duty Jackson Police Department officer in March 2023.
Dexter Wade was buried at the Hinds County Pauper’s Cemetery. But it was October before his mother was told about the burial. His body was exhumed Nov. 13, and an independent autopsy was conducted. A wallet found in the pocket of his jeans contained his state identification card with his home address, credit card and a health insurance card, said civil rights attorney Ben Crump, who is representing Wade’s family.
On Nov. 20, Dexter Wade’s family held a funeral for him, and he was buried in another cemetery.
