Illinois
Deputy charged with murder in fatal shooting of 911 caller
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) — An Illinois sheriff’s deputy has been charged with murder in the fatal shooting of a woman insider her home.
Sonya Massey was killed after Sangamon County deputies responded to her 911 call early on July 6, State’s Attorney John Milhiser said.
A statement from Milhiser doesn’t describe the circumstances that preceded the shooting at Massey’s home in Springfield, 200 miles (322 kilometers) south of Chicago. But he said a review of body-camera video doesn’t support the use of deadly force.
Deputy Sean Grayson was indicted on charges of first-degree murder, aggravated battery with a firearm and official misconduct, Milhiser said Wednesday.
Grayson was in custody awaiting a court appearance Thursday. It was unclear if he had an attorney. Calls to Milhiser’s office and the public defender office were unanswered early Thursday.
Sheriff Jack Campbell said Grayson has been fired.
“It is clear that the deputy did not act as trained or in accordance with our standards. ... With our badge we accept enormous responsibility, and if that responsibility is abused, there should be consequences,” Campbell said.
Ben Crump, an attorney for Massey’s family, said the 36-year-old woman had called police about a suspected intruder in her home. He said she was unarmed and shot in the face.
Crump said the charges were a “step toward justice for Sonya’s loved ones, especially her children, who have endured unimaginable pain and suffering since they were notified of this tragedy.”
As many as 200 people gathered Wednesday at the Springfield NAACP building to express support for Massey, who is Black, and her family.
“I am enraged that another innocent Black woman had her life taken from her at the hands of a police officer,” Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker said following the indictment.
Nevada
Judge dismisses Republican challenge over counting of post-Election Day mail
RENO, Nev. (AP) — A federal judge on Wednesday dismissed a lawsuit filed by national and state Republicans that sought to bar Nevada from counting mail ballots received after Election Day.
A state law passed by Democrats in 2021 allows election officials to tally ballots received by 5 p.m. on the fourth day after Election Day, as long as the envelopes are postmarked before the end of Election Day.
The judge rejected Republicans’ assertions that this was unconstitutional and violated federal law, as well as their claim that the rule gave Democrats an unfair electoral advantage and diluted the power of Republicans votes.
The lawsuit was filed in May by the Republican National Committee, the Nevada Republican Party and former President Donald Trump’s campaign. It named as defendants Nevada’s Democratic Secretary of State Cisco Aguilar and other local election officials.
Aguilar’s office declined to comment on the dismissal.
In a statement, the Republican National Committee’s Election Integrity spokesperson, Claire Zunk, said that the post-Election Day mail ballot deadline still breaks federal law and that “a liberal judge unjustifiably dismissed our case.”
“We are committed to protecting the ballot, and we will pursue further legal action in this case,” Zunk said
The Nevada GOP and the Trump campaign did not respond to requests for comment.
The post-Election Day tally is part of Nevada’s universal mail ballot system, where a mail ballot is sent to all eligible voters unless they opt out.
Nevada is one of 19 states that allows ballots to be tallied if they are received after Election Day. Supporters of those rules say they make it easier to vote and ensure that those who cast ballots by mail have as much time to make up their minds as those who vote on Election Day. Opponents contend the practice slows the tallying of election results and undermines trust in the system.
The lawsuit was one of dozens filed by the party as it challenged election rules after Trump loyalists perpetuated claims about the 2020 election being stolen from him.
Biden defeated Trump in Nevada in 2020 by just under 2.5%, or 34,000 votes.
Massachusetts
Pentagon leaker to face a military court-martial
BOSTON (AP) — Massachusetts Air National Guard member Jack Teixeira, who pleaded guilty in March to federal criminal charges for leaking highly classified military documents, will now face a military court-martial.
Teixeira admitted to illegally collecting some of the nation’s most sensitive secrets and sharing them on the social media platform Discord. He is facing military charges of disobeying orders and obstructing justice.
The U.S. Air Force said in a statement Wednesday that he will be tried at Hanscom Air Force Base in Massachusetts but no date has been set. An attorney for Teixeira didn’t immediately respond to a message seeking comment.
At a May hearing, military prosecutors said a court-martial is appropriate given that obeying orders is the “absolute core” of the military. But Teixeira’s lawyers argued that further action would amount to prosecuting him twice for the same offense.
Teixeira, who was part of the 102nd Intelligence Wing at Otis Air National Guard Base in Massachusetts, worked as a cyber transport systems specialist, essentially an information technology specialist responsible for military communications networks.
Teixeira was arrested just over a year ago in the most consequential national security leak in years.
He pleaded guilty on March 4 to six counts of willful retention and transmission of national defense information under a deal with prosecutors that calls for him to serve at least 11 years in prison. He’s scheduled to be sentenced in that case in September.
Authorities in the criminal case said Teixeira first typed out classified documents he accessed and then began sharing photographs of files that bore SECRET and TOP SECRET markings. The leak exposed to the world unvarnished secret assessments of Russia’s war in Ukraine, including information about troop movements in Ukraine and the provision of supplies and equipment to Ukrainian troops. Teixeira also admitted to posting information about a U.S. adversary’s plans to harm U.S. forces serving overseas.
The stunning security breach raised alarm over America’s ability to protect its most closely guarded secrets and forced President Joe Biden’s administration to scramble to try to contain the diplomatic and military fallout. The leaks embarrassed the Pentagon, which tightened controls to safeguard classified information and disciplined members it found had intentionally failed to take required action about Teixeira’s suspicious behavior.
Washington
Lawyer: Army private who fled to North Korea is in talks to resolve military charges
WASHINGTON (AP) — A lawyer for an Army private who fled to North Korea and was later charged with desertion and possessing sexual images of a child said Wednesday that he was in negotiations with military prosecutors to resolve the case against his client.
Army Pvt. Travis King had been scheduled for a preliminary hearing Tuesday in Fort Bliss, Texas. But the hearing was canceled to give the two sides room to negotiate a resolution, King’s attorney, Franklin D. Rosenblatt, told The Associated Press.
He declined to discuss the details of the discussions or what any deal might entail, but said a request had been made to postpone the hearing by two weeks and that the negotiations could result in no preliminary hearing being necessary.
King in July 2023 ran across the heavily fortified border from South Korea and became the first American detained in North Korea in nearly five years.
Officials said King was taken to the airport and escorted as far as customs. But instead of getting on the plane, he left and later joined a civilian tour of the Korean border village of Panmunjom. He ran across the border, which is lined with guards and often crowded with tourists, in the afternoon.
After about two months, Pyongyang abruptly announced that it would expel him. He was flown on Sept. 28 to an Air Force base in Texas.
In October, he was charged with desertion and also accused of kicking and punching other officers last year, unlawfully possessing alcohol, making a false statement and possessing a video of a child engaged in sexual activity.
His mother, Claudine Gates, said in a statement at the time that she loved her son unconditionally and was extremely concerned about his mental health.
“The man I raised, the man I dropped off at boot camp, the man who spent the holidays with me before deploying did not drink and would never have had anything to do with child pornography,” she said. “A mother knows her son, and I believe something happened to mine while he was deployed.”
Missouri
High court clears way for woman’s release after 43 years in prison
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — The Missouri Supreme Court cleared the way Thursday for a Missouri woman whose murder conviction was overturned to be freed after 43 years in prison.
A circuit court judge ruled last month that Sandra Hemme’s attorneys showed evidence of her “actual innocence,” and an appeals court ruled she should be freed while her case is reviewed.
But Hemme’s immediate freedom has been complicated by lengthy sentences she received for crimes she committed while behind bars — a total of 12 years, which were piled on top of the life sentence she received for her murder conviction.
Republican Attorney General Andrew Bailey took his fight to keep her locked up to the state’s highest court, but her attorneys argued that keeping her incarcerated any longer would be a “draconian outcome.”
Her release appears imminent, however, now that the Missouri Supreme Court court has refused to undo the lower court rulings allowing her to be released on her own recognizance and placed in the custody of her sister and brother-in-law in the Missouri town of Higginsville.
No details have been released on when Hemme will be freed.
Hemme, now 64, had been serving a life sentence at a prison northeast of Kansas City after she was twice convicted of murder in the death of library worker Patricia Jeschke.
She’s been the longest-held wrongly incarcerated woman known in the U.S., according to her legal team at the Innocence Project.
“This Court finds that the totality of the evidence supports a finding of actual innocence,” Circuit Court Judge Ryan Horsman concluded after an extensive review.
Horsman noted that Hemme was heavily sedated and in a “malleable mental state” when investigators repeatedly questioned her in a psychiatric hospital. Her attorneys described her ultimate confession as “often monosyllabic responses to leading questions.”
Other than this confession, no evidence linked her to the crime, her trial prosecutor said.
The St. Joseph Police Department, meanwhile, ignored evidence pointing to Michael Holman — a fellow officer, who died in 2015 — and the prosecution wasn’t told about FBI results that could have cleared her, so it was never disclosed before her trials, the judge found.
“This Court finds that the evidence shows that Ms. Hemme’s statements to police are so unreliable and that the evidence pointing to Michael Holman as the perpetrator of the crime so objective and probative that no reasonable juror would find Ms. Hemme guilty,” Horsman concluded in his 118-page ruling. “She is the victim of a manifest injustice.”
Deputy charged with murder in fatal shooting of 911 caller
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) — An Illinois sheriff’s deputy has been charged with murder in the fatal shooting of a woman insider her home.
Sonya Massey was killed after Sangamon County deputies responded to her 911 call early on July 6, State’s Attorney John Milhiser said.
A statement from Milhiser doesn’t describe the circumstances that preceded the shooting at Massey’s home in Springfield, 200 miles (322 kilometers) south of Chicago. But he said a review of body-camera video doesn’t support the use of deadly force.
Deputy Sean Grayson was indicted on charges of first-degree murder, aggravated battery with a firearm and official misconduct, Milhiser said Wednesday.
Grayson was in custody awaiting a court appearance Thursday. It was unclear if he had an attorney. Calls to Milhiser’s office and the public defender office were unanswered early Thursday.
Sheriff Jack Campbell said Grayson has been fired.
“It is clear that the deputy did not act as trained or in accordance with our standards. ... With our badge we accept enormous responsibility, and if that responsibility is abused, there should be consequences,” Campbell said.
Ben Crump, an attorney for Massey’s family, said the 36-year-old woman had called police about a suspected intruder in her home. He said she was unarmed and shot in the face.
Crump said the charges were a “step toward justice for Sonya’s loved ones, especially her children, who have endured unimaginable pain and suffering since they were notified of this tragedy.”
As many as 200 people gathered Wednesday at the Springfield NAACP building to express support for Massey, who is Black, and her family.
“I am enraged that another innocent Black woman had her life taken from her at the hands of a police officer,” Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker said following the indictment.
Nevada
Judge dismisses Republican challenge over counting of post-Election Day mail
RENO, Nev. (AP) — A federal judge on Wednesday dismissed a lawsuit filed by national and state Republicans that sought to bar Nevada from counting mail ballots received after Election Day.
A state law passed by Democrats in 2021 allows election officials to tally ballots received by 5 p.m. on the fourth day after Election Day, as long as the envelopes are postmarked before the end of Election Day.
The judge rejected Republicans’ assertions that this was unconstitutional and violated federal law, as well as their claim that the rule gave Democrats an unfair electoral advantage and diluted the power of Republicans votes.
The lawsuit was filed in May by the Republican National Committee, the Nevada Republican Party and former President Donald Trump’s campaign. It named as defendants Nevada’s Democratic Secretary of State Cisco Aguilar and other local election officials.
Aguilar’s office declined to comment on the dismissal.
In a statement, the Republican National Committee’s Election Integrity spokesperson, Claire Zunk, said that the post-Election Day mail ballot deadline still breaks federal law and that “a liberal judge unjustifiably dismissed our case.”
“We are committed to protecting the ballot, and we will pursue further legal action in this case,” Zunk said
The Nevada GOP and the Trump campaign did not respond to requests for comment.
The post-Election Day tally is part of Nevada’s universal mail ballot system, where a mail ballot is sent to all eligible voters unless they opt out.
Nevada is one of 19 states that allows ballots to be tallied if they are received after Election Day. Supporters of those rules say they make it easier to vote and ensure that those who cast ballots by mail have as much time to make up their minds as those who vote on Election Day. Opponents contend the practice slows the tallying of election results and undermines trust in the system.
The lawsuit was one of dozens filed by the party as it challenged election rules after Trump loyalists perpetuated claims about the 2020 election being stolen from him.
Biden defeated Trump in Nevada in 2020 by just under 2.5%, or 34,000 votes.
Massachusetts
Pentagon leaker to face a military court-martial
BOSTON (AP) — Massachusetts Air National Guard member Jack Teixeira, who pleaded guilty in March to federal criminal charges for leaking highly classified military documents, will now face a military court-martial.
Teixeira admitted to illegally collecting some of the nation’s most sensitive secrets and sharing them on the social media platform Discord. He is facing military charges of disobeying orders and obstructing justice.
The U.S. Air Force said in a statement Wednesday that he will be tried at Hanscom Air Force Base in Massachusetts but no date has been set. An attorney for Teixeira didn’t immediately respond to a message seeking comment.
At a May hearing, military prosecutors said a court-martial is appropriate given that obeying orders is the “absolute core” of the military. But Teixeira’s lawyers argued that further action would amount to prosecuting him twice for the same offense.
Teixeira, who was part of the 102nd Intelligence Wing at Otis Air National Guard Base in Massachusetts, worked as a cyber transport systems specialist, essentially an information technology specialist responsible for military communications networks.
Teixeira was arrested just over a year ago in the most consequential national security leak in years.
He pleaded guilty on March 4 to six counts of willful retention and transmission of national defense information under a deal with prosecutors that calls for him to serve at least 11 years in prison. He’s scheduled to be sentenced in that case in September.
Authorities in the criminal case said Teixeira first typed out classified documents he accessed and then began sharing photographs of files that bore SECRET and TOP SECRET markings. The leak exposed to the world unvarnished secret assessments of Russia’s war in Ukraine, including information about troop movements in Ukraine and the provision of supplies and equipment to Ukrainian troops. Teixeira also admitted to posting information about a U.S. adversary’s plans to harm U.S. forces serving overseas.
The stunning security breach raised alarm over America’s ability to protect its most closely guarded secrets and forced President Joe Biden’s administration to scramble to try to contain the diplomatic and military fallout. The leaks embarrassed the Pentagon, which tightened controls to safeguard classified information and disciplined members it found had intentionally failed to take required action about Teixeira’s suspicious behavior.
Washington
Lawyer: Army private who fled to North Korea is in talks to resolve military charges
WASHINGTON (AP) — A lawyer for an Army private who fled to North Korea and was later charged with desertion and possessing sexual images of a child said Wednesday that he was in negotiations with military prosecutors to resolve the case against his client.
Army Pvt. Travis King had been scheduled for a preliminary hearing Tuesday in Fort Bliss, Texas. But the hearing was canceled to give the two sides room to negotiate a resolution, King’s attorney, Franklin D. Rosenblatt, told The Associated Press.
He declined to discuss the details of the discussions or what any deal might entail, but said a request had been made to postpone the hearing by two weeks and that the negotiations could result in no preliminary hearing being necessary.
King in July 2023 ran across the heavily fortified border from South Korea and became the first American detained in North Korea in nearly five years.
Officials said King was taken to the airport and escorted as far as customs. But instead of getting on the plane, he left and later joined a civilian tour of the Korean border village of Panmunjom. He ran across the border, which is lined with guards and often crowded with tourists, in the afternoon.
After about two months, Pyongyang abruptly announced that it would expel him. He was flown on Sept. 28 to an Air Force base in Texas.
In October, he was charged with desertion and also accused of kicking and punching other officers last year, unlawfully possessing alcohol, making a false statement and possessing a video of a child engaged in sexual activity.
His mother, Claudine Gates, said in a statement at the time that she loved her son unconditionally and was extremely concerned about his mental health.
“The man I raised, the man I dropped off at boot camp, the man who spent the holidays with me before deploying did not drink and would never have had anything to do with child pornography,” she said. “A mother knows her son, and I believe something happened to mine while he was deployed.”
Missouri
High court clears way for woman’s release after 43 years in prison
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — The Missouri Supreme Court cleared the way Thursday for a Missouri woman whose murder conviction was overturned to be freed after 43 years in prison.
A circuit court judge ruled last month that Sandra Hemme’s attorneys showed evidence of her “actual innocence,” and an appeals court ruled she should be freed while her case is reviewed.
But Hemme’s immediate freedom has been complicated by lengthy sentences she received for crimes she committed while behind bars — a total of 12 years, which were piled on top of the life sentence she received for her murder conviction.
Republican Attorney General Andrew Bailey took his fight to keep her locked up to the state’s highest court, but her attorneys argued that keeping her incarcerated any longer would be a “draconian outcome.”
Her release appears imminent, however, now that the Missouri Supreme Court court has refused to undo the lower court rulings allowing her to be released on her own recognizance and placed in the custody of her sister and brother-in-law in the Missouri town of Higginsville.
No details have been released on when Hemme will be freed.
Hemme, now 64, had been serving a life sentence at a prison northeast of Kansas City after she was twice convicted of murder in the death of library worker Patricia Jeschke.
She’s been the longest-held wrongly incarcerated woman known in the U.S., according to her legal team at the Innocence Project.
“This Court finds that the totality of the evidence supports a finding of actual innocence,” Circuit Court Judge Ryan Horsman concluded after an extensive review.
Horsman noted that Hemme was heavily sedated and in a “malleable mental state” when investigators repeatedly questioned her in a psychiatric hospital. Her attorneys described her ultimate confession as “often monosyllabic responses to leading questions.”
Other than this confession, no evidence linked her to the crime, her trial prosecutor said.
The St. Joseph Police Department, meanwhile, ignored evidence pointing to Michael Holman — a fellow officer, who died in 2015 — and the prosecution wasn’t told about FBI results that could have cleared her, so it was never disclosed before her trials, the judge found.
“This Court finds that the evidence shows that Ms. Hemme’s statements to police are so unreliable and that the evidence pointing to Michael Holman as the perpetrator of the crime so objective and probative that no reasonable juror would find Ms. Hemme guilty,” Horsman concluded in his 118-page ruling. “She is the victim of a manifest injustice.”
