National Roundup

Ohio
Court reviews how man got early jail release before slayings
NEWARK, Ohio (AP) — An Ohio court is reviewing how and why a domestic violence suspect was released early from jail weeks before fatally shooting three people, including a woman he was accused of assaulting and a police chief.

Forty-three-year-old gunman Thomas Hartless killed himself after the slayings Friday at a nursing home in Kirkersville, about 25 miles (39 kilometers) east of Columbus.

Hartless was freed in April after his latest domestic violence case. Judge Michael Higgins says Licking County Municipal Court is reviewing how the case was handled. Higgins tells WBNS-TV that apparently “mistakes were made” and that understanding what happened is important.

Funerals are scheduled Friday for 46-year-old nurse Marlina Medrano, and Saturday for Kirkersville Police Chief Steven Eric DiSario. A memorial service was planned Wednesday for 48-year-old nurse’s aide Cindy Krantz.

Massachusetts
Police: Drunken driving suspect had lizard in bra
TAUNTON, Mass. (AP) — Police in Massachusetts say a bearded dragon lizard was turned over to animal control after a woman suspected of drunken driving revealed she had the animal stuffed in her bra.

Taunton police said in a Facebook post that the 39-year-old woman had a blood alcohol level nearly twice the legal limit Tuesday when she drove off the road, smashing into several mailboxes. Police say, despite the fact that the air bags were deployed and all four tires were flattened, the driver asked officers to call a tow truck so she could be on her way.

Police say a male passenger was also taken into custody after being tackled by an officer who saw what appeared to be a handgun in the man’s waistband. It was determined to be a pellet gun.

Colorado
Inmate who was freed early then jailed again wins release
CENTENNIAL, Colo. (AP) — A suburban Denver robbery-kidnapping convict was ordered released from prison Tuesday after being mistakenly freed decades early, then re-incarcerated.

Rene Lima-Marin was convicted in 2000 of multiple robbery, kidnapping and burglary counts. He and another man had robbed two video stores at gunpoint.

Lima-Marin was sentenced to 98 years in prison. But he was mistakenly released on parole in 2008, then held a steady job and got married. Authorities realized the mistake in 2014, and police returned him to prison.

The decision Tuesday ends years of battles by Lima-Marin to be freed.

Chief Arapahoe County District Judge Carlos Samour Jr. wrote that it would be “draconian” to keep Lima-Marin in prison.

“Although most of Lima-Marin’s sentence remains unserved, he has sufficiently paid his debt to society,” the judge wrote.

Samour also pointed out that Lima-Marin, who did not know in 2008 that he was released by accident, had already completed parole and started a family before authorities returned him to prison.

“Without the ability to turn back the clock, how does the court dispense justice under such circumstances?” the judge asked.

Samour also criticized “the government’s conscience-shocking deliberate indifference” when it accidentally released a man and didn’t notice the error for six years. But Samour added that re-incarcerating Lima-Marin now “would perpetuate a manifest injustice.”

Lima-Marin’s release was first reported by The Denver Post.

The Colorado Legislature approved a nonbinding resolution earlier this month urging Gov. John Hickenlooper to grant Lima-Marin clemency.

There was no immediate word from the state Department of Corrections on when Lima-Marin would be released from a prison in southern Colorado, the newspaper reported.

Lima-Marin’s co-defendant, Michael Clifton, is serving 98 years in prison.

California
Appeals court upholds Google trademark
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — A federal appeals court has rejected a lawsuit that aimed to cancel Google’s trademark by arguing that “google” is now synonymous with searching the internet.

The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said Tuesday it was not enough to show that people use the verb “google” generically to refer to searching the web. The lawsuit had to show that people understood “google” to mean internet search engines generally, and not just Google’s search engine.

A three-judge panel of the 9th Circuit said the lawsuit did not present enough evidence to support such a claim.

Richard Wirtz, an attorney for two men who filed the lawsuit, said the ruling further expands the wide monopoly already granted to trademark owners.

Kentucky
Judge won’t hear gay adoptions
LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — Civil rights groups are seeking the removal of a Kentucky judge who won’t hear adoption cases involving gay adults.

The American Civil Liberties Union and other groups complained to Kentucky’s judicial disciplinary commission about W. Mitchell Nance, a family court judge in Barren and Metcalfe counties.

Nance announced he would recuse himself from adoption cases involving homosexuals because he believes it’s never in a child’s best interest to be adopted by a gay person.

Gay rights advocate Chris Hartman says Nance’s “inability to be impartial is a blight on his office.”

Nance declined comment.

Martin Cothran, with the Family Foundation of Kentucky, said Nance is following the law by recusing himself if he believes his views might bias a case.

Mississippi
Woman denied new trial in 2 officers deaths
HATTIESBURG, Miss. (AP) — A judge has denied a request for a new trial of a Mississippi woman convicted in connection with the slaying of two Hattiesburg police officers.

News outlets report Judge Bob Helfrich denied a new trial for 24-year-old Joanie Calloway on Tuesday. Calloway was convicted May 3 on charges of hindering prosecution and attempted accessory after the fact of capital murder and sentenced to 25 years in prison.

Benjamin Deen and Liquori Tate were shot and killed May 9, 2015, during a traffic stop.

Calloway’s lawyer Andres Wallace argued mistakes during the trial caused her client to receive an unfair trial.

Helfrich says he initially thought the state might have overcharged her, but after hearing evidence, he believes Calloway could have prevented the slayings.

Four other people are awaiting trial.