Court Digest

Ohio
Man held on $2 million bail in deaths of 2 men he met online
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — A man charged in the deaths of two central Ohio men authorities say were killed after meeting the suspect online was ordered held in lieu of $2 million bail.

A Franklin County municipal court judge on Saturday ordered 19-year-old Talent Bradley, of Coshocton, held on $1 million each in the deaths of Robert Goodrich of Westerville and Robert Gwirtz of Columbus.

Both men are believed to have been killed May 26 at their respective homes. Goodrich, 62, was found dead the following day and 63-year-old Gwirtz was found dead June 7, authorities said. Authorities said Goodrich was stabbed and Gwirtz died of blunt force trauma.

The prosecutor told the judge that Bradley told investigators that he acted in self-defense but “the facts just do not line up with that being the case.”

WCMH-TV, however, reported that as he was being led to jail, Bradley told a reporter from the station: “I didn’t do it.” It’s unclear whether he has an attorney; a listed number for him couldn’t be found Sunday. His preliminary hearing is scheduled Aug. 20.

Westerville police said Bradley, who was arrested Wednesday, met both men on the social networking and online dating app Grindr.

Sgt. James Fuqua said investigators are still looking into why Goodrich and Gwirtz were targeted, the Columbus Dispatch reported. He said both were of similar age and lived alone, which may have made them robbery targets. Goodrich’s cellphone was stolen from his home, according to court records.

Grindr released a statement Thursday saying it encourages users to report criminal allegations to authorities and cooperates with law enforcement in some cases, WBNS-TV reported.

“Grindr encourages users to be careful when interacting with people they do not know and to report improper or illegal behavior either within the app or directly,” the company said.


Kansas
Lawyer disbarred after hit-and-run crash conviction
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — A Topeka attorney who was convicted in a fatal hit-and-run crash has been disbarred.

The Kansas Supreme Court revoked Roy Artman’s law license because of his role in the fatal 2016 crash that killed 29-year-old Anthony Espinoza. He was found guilty in 2019 of leaving the scene of a fatal crash.

According to court records, Artman struck two people who were changing a tire on their vehicle while he was driving on Interstate 70 between Topeka and Lawrence. Espinoza was killed and the other person was injured.

Artman testified he had a couple alcoholic drinks at a restaurant before the crash and that he didn’t know what he hit that night, according  to the Topeka Capital-Journal.

The Kansas Supreme Court said Artman’s testimony about the crash wasn’t consistent with the evidence.

Artman was sentenced to 24 months of probation after he was convicted in November 2019.

Illinois
Judge: ‘Serious’ violations to transgender inmates’ rights
EAST ST. LOUIS, Ill. (AP) — A federal judge has noted “serious ongoing” violations to the rights of transgender prison inmates in Illinois which must be “immediately addressed.”

Chief Judge Nancy J. Rosenstengel in southern Illinois said in a memorandum and order earlier this month that the Illinois Department of Corrections has made some changes ordered in 2019 following a class-action lawsuit. But correctional officers and other staff have not had any training in new procedures regarding transgender inmates.

“There are still serious violations of Plaintiffs’ constitutional rights happening every day,” Rosenstengel said. That includes delays in treating inmates and a failure to monitor the health of inmates receiving hormone therapy and properly adjusting the dosage.

Rosenstengel also noted a lack of appropriate medical are and more suicide attempts, more threats of suicide and ongoing harassment.

“Our clients have endured years of suffering, waiting for IDOC to simply provide basic health care,” said inmates’ attorney attorney John Knight, LGBTQ & HIV Project Director at the ACLU of Illinois.

An Illinois Department of Corrections spokeswoman said the agency has “implemented a number of initiatives to improve the quality of transgender care” and “is committed to ensuring world class care for transgender individuals in custody.”

Ohio
Mom pleads guilty to murder in young son’s death
MIDDLETOWN, Ohio (AP) — The mother of a 6-year-old boy who authorities say died when she tried to abandon him and his two older siblings at a park has pleaded guilty to murder and and two counts of felony child endangerment.

Brittany Gosney, 29, of Middletown, unexpectedly entered her pleas during a court hearing Monday. The hearing had been requested by her attorney, who was seeking to bar prosecutors from using statements she made to detectives at trial.

Gosney was facing 16 counts overall and initially pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity, but she was found competent to stand trial in April following a court-ordered mental evaluation. The remaining 13 counts were dismissed as part of her plea deal, and she faces up to life in prison when she’s sentenced Sept. 13.

Gosney’s 43-year-old boyfriend, James Hamilton, was also charged in the case and pleaded not guilty to the 15 counts he faces, including abuse of a corpse, evidence tampering and child endangerment. He was due to make a court appearance later Monday, but it wasn’t clear if he would be entering any pleas.

Authorities have said Gosney told investigators that she was under pressure from Hamilton to get rid of 6-year-old James Hutchinson and his two siblings, ages 9 and 7. Gosney drove the three children to the park on Feb. 26, where she planned to abandon them, authorities said, but there was no indication that Gosney planned to kill them. Hutchinson died after he grabbed for a door on his mother’s vehicle and was dragged.

Gosney and Hamilton dumped James’ body into the Ohio River near Lawrenceburg, Indiana, on Feb. 28, authorities have said. Flood conditions initially prevented a search effort there, and the boy’s body has not been recovered despite multiple searches.


Ohio
Court to weigh deadline for guilty plea withdrawal
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — A man who tried unsuccessfully to withdraw his guilty plea in a fatal shooting at the last minute after he said new evidence could exonerate him will have his case heard by the Ohio Supreme Court.

At issue is the 2017 killing of a woman during an argument at a Cleveland gas station. Three people fired shots that day, including defendant Terry Barnes, who argued he shot in self-defense, according to court records.

Police never determined who fired the fatal shot and Barnes pleaded to involuntary manslaughter because he didn’t believe there was enough evidence to back up his argument. He moved to withdraw his guilty plea a day before sentencing after obtaining security footage audio that he said proved he didn’t fire first.

Both a Cuyahoga County court judge and an appeals court panel ruled against Barnes. The state Supreme Court voted 4-3 last week to hear the case.

Barnes’ attorneys say he has a “reasonable and legitimate basis” for withdrawing his plea. Cuyahoga County prosecutors have urged the court to reject Barnes’ argument, saying the alternative is allowing defendants with a “change of heart” to try to withdraw a plea at the last minute.

Any decision is months away.

Washington
County to pay $72K to settle  harassment by deputy lawsuit
VANCOUVER, Wash. (AP) — Clark County, Washington, has agreed to pay $72,000 to settle a civil rights lawsuit filed by a man who said an argument with a deputy led to deputies harassing and arresting him over several months.

Steven Klug, a 54-year-old U.S. Marine Corps veteran, said the run-ins with deputies stemmed from an August 2017 argument with Deputy Jack Phane while Klug checked his vehicle’s oil at a gas station, Oregon Public Broadcasting reported. The deputy then pulled Klug over and gave him a traffic ticket.

Klug alleged Phane and two other deputies then conspired to harass and arrest him. Deputies detained him in October 2017, court records show.

Another deputy arrested him in December on charges of intimidating a public servant when Phane tried to pay the traffic ticket. A Clark County judge threw out Klug’s arrest, finding no probable cause.

Klug filed the civil rights lawsuit in the U.S. District Court of Western Washington in 2019. The county agreed to the settlement this week, according to Klug’s lawyer, Angus Lee.

The settlement came after a U.S. magistrate judge found evidence to support one of Klug’s claims: that Deputy Dan Brown wrongfully detained Klug outside his home while Phane watched from a block away.

If the case went to a jury trial, Judge Richard Creatura wrote, the stop likely would be found to be illegal.

The magistrate judge described the case as two “overbearing” men whose dispute escalated into near violence.

Missouri
Texas teen with autism sues boarding school
STOCKTON, Mo. (AP) — A Christian boarding school in southwest Missouri has been sued three times this month over allegations that students were abused.

The latest of the lawsuits was filed Tuesday in Cedar County Circuit Court on behalf of a Texas teen with autism and bipolar disorder. It accuses Agape Baptist Church, which operates Agape Boarding School, of negligence, infliction of emotional distress and battery by staff and other students, The Kansas City Star reports.

The family’s attorney, Grant Davis, said the teen, who is identified in the suit only by his initials, “suffered physical and mental abuse including being beaten and, in effect, tortured.”
Agape officials have not responded to repeated requests from The Star for comment.

Agape — one of four unlicensed boarding schools that has operated in Cedar County — is currently under investigation by state and local authorities for allegations of abuse. The Missouri Attorney General’s Office has recommended that charges be filed, but the decision is up to Cedar County prosecuting attorney Ty Gaither. He told The Star last week that he is still reviewing the case.

Two other former students filed lawsuits against Agape on Aug. 6, accusing the boarding school of negligence that resulted in abuse. And two other lawsuits were filed in February.


Iowa
City agrees to $50K to settle lawsuit over police dog attack
CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (AP) — The Cedar Rapids City Council has approved a $50,000 payment to settle a lawsuit brought by a man who said he was unjustly attacked by a city police dog last year.

The lawsuit was filed by Howard Cones, who said he was sleeping on a park bench in June 2018 when the dog, unprovoked, viciously attacked him, causing multiple bite wounds and blood loss.

The dog had been taken to the park by its handler for a training exercise when Cones was randomly attacked, the lawsuit said. The lawsuit accused the city and police officers of negligence in the training and handling of the dog.
The City Council approved the settlement last week, The Gazette reported.

A second lawsuit involving a city police dog attack on a 13-year-old boy last year is still pending.

The child’s mother has said in the lawsuit that her son went to spend the night at a friend’s house, but a miscommunication left him locked out of the house, and he fell asleep in the friend’s backyard. The child, who is Black, awoke to the dog attacking him and police yelling at him, his mother said.

At the time, police were pursuing four young Black people believed to be in a stolen vehicle who were thought to be in the same neighborhood as the child who was attacked, the family’s attorney has said. The child was treated for deep cuts at a hospital before being released without charges.

The lawsuit claims excessive use of force and racial discrimination by police.