North Dakota
Case of accused flight attendant might not get trial
BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) - The case of a flight attendant accused of using bogus in-air bomb threats to disrupt flights he worked in the upper Midwest and on the East Coast last year might not make it to trial in either North Dakota or Virginia.
Court documents show the Virginia case may be transferred to North Dakota, which would indicate a plea agreement or a change of plea might occur, according to Assistant U.S. Attorney Gary Delorme.
"Cases don't get transferred out for trials, generally," he said.
Justin Cox-Sever, a former SkyWest Airlines flight attendant from Tempe, Arizona, is accused of making bogus bomb threats on a July flight from Charlottesville, Virginia, to Chicago, and on a September flight from Minneapolis to Dickinson, North Dakota. Prosecutors haven't speculated about a possible motive.
Cox-Sever, 22, is charged in federal court in both Virginia, where he has not yet entered a plea, and North Dakota, where he has pleaded not guilty and was to stand trial this week. However, U.S. District Judge Daniel Hovland in Bismarck late last month granted a defense motion to delay the North Dakota case.
Federal Public Defender Neil Fulton indicated in his motion that the two cases might be consolidated and that he needed more time to prepare. Hovland scheduled a three-day trial beginning April 5 in Bismarck.
Fulton on Tuesday declined to discuss in detail how Cox-Sever wants to proceed.
"We are discussing all his options," Fulton said.
FBI Special Agent Daniel Genck wrote in an affidavit that Cox-Sever admitted planting a suspicious bag on the North Dakota flight and writing a threat on a wall of the plane's bathroom in the Virginia case.
Cox-Sever is no longer employed by SkyWest, though the airline won't say whether he was fired or left on his own.
Oklahoma
Settlement reached over stolen painting
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - An attorney for a French woman who sued the University of Oklahoma over a painting that the Nazis stole from her family says a settlement has been reached and that the university will return the painting to her.
New York attorney Pierre Ciric told The Associated Press on Tuesday that the settlement was signed by both parties regarding ownership of the painting "Shepherdess Bringing in Sheep" by the impressionist master Camille Pissaro.
He says under the settlement, 100 percent the painting's title will be transferred to his client, Leona Meyers. The agreement also calls for the painting to be displayed publicly at OU's Fred Jones Jr. Museum of Art in Norman, Oklahoma, and a museum in France.
A university spokeswoman didn't immediately return a phone message seeking comment.
New York
$183M awarded in blaze that killed firefighters
NEW YORK (AP) - A jury has awarded $183 million to five firefighters or their families in a case stemming from a 2005 tenement blaze on a day known as Black Sunday.
Two firefighters were killed in the Jan. 23, 2005, Bronx fire. Four others were severely injured, including one who died in 2011.
The jury on Monday found the city 80 percent responsible for the deaths and injuries. The building's owner was found liable for 20 percent.
In February 2010, a judge overturned negligent homicide and reckless endangerment convictions against the owner and manager of the apartment building, where tenants had constructed a labyrinth of illegal walls. A separate jury had previously acquitted two tenants of similar charges.
The firefighters' lawyer, Vito Cannavo, had argued that the city failed to equip them with the proper ropes to escape; they jumped to get out of the surging blaze.
The case highlighted the hazards of using temporary walls for illegal apartment conversions. The tenants had turned their living quarters into a deadly maze so they could make extra cash renting rooms, prosecutors said.
The family of one of the firefighters had settled its case before the verdict.
About $140 million of the award is to be paid by the city. The rest is to be paid by one of the building's former owners, 234 East 178th Street L.L.C. The judge has some discretion over the final amount.
An attorney for the company said he would comment Tuesday afternoon.
The city, which said the liability is unfairly apportioned, is considering an appeal.
A third firefighter also died on Black Sunday while battling an unrelated house fire in Brooklyn.
Florida
Man incompetent in case of tossing girl from bridge
CLEARWATER, Fla. (AP) - A judge says a man accused of throwing his daughter from a Tampa bridge is still not competent to stand trial.
It's the third time since January 2015 that a judge has declared John Jonchuck mentally incapable of standing trial for the death of 5-year-old Phoebe Jonchuck.
The Tampa Tribune reports that the 26-year-old Jonchuck is receiving treatment at a state mental hospital.
Jonchuck was arrested shortly after authorities say he dropped the child more than 60 feet off a bridge on the approach to the Sunshine Skyway, which crosses Tampa Bay. Investigators have said he exhibited strange behavior in the day leading to the girl's death.
An assistant state attorney told the judge Jonchuck's condition is improving. Another hearing is planned for June 7.
Ohio
Machete attack victim: 'I refuse to be terrified'
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) - The man most seriously hurt in a machete attack at an Ohio restaurant has been released from a hospital.
Musician Bill Foley was among four people injured in the dinnertime attack Feb. 11 at Nazareth Restaurant and Deli in Columbus. The attacker fled and was later fatally shot by police.
Foley tells WCMH-TV he was repeatedly sliced when he jumped on the attacker and tried to hold him down.
He tells The Columbus Dispatch he plans to again visit the restaurant when it reopens. Foley says: "I refuse to be terrified."
Authorities say the attacker, 30-year-old Mohamed Barry, was from the West African nation of Guinea. They haven't released details about him or a possible motive.
A local terrorism task force and the FBI have been involved in the investigation.
Published: Wed, Feb 24, 2016
