Rhode Island
Judge rules man who had more than 200 guns can be released
PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) — A Rhode Island man arrested after investigators found more than 200 guns strewn around his home can safely be released on bond under certain conditions, a federal judge said in a ruling released Monday.
The exact conditions will be determined Tuesday when Ronald Andruchuk, 37, of Burrillville, faces a detention hearing in federal court in Providence.
Andruchuk was arrested at his home Feb. 24 by police investigating reports of gunfire. Police found the guns all around the home where his wife and three children also live, thousands of rounds of ammunition, and a flamethrower, investigators said.
He faces several charges including possession of a firearm by a prohibited person, because of his alleged drug use.
A magistrate judge last week ordered him released under conditions, including that he not have access to guns. But prosecutors objected, arguing that Andruchuk posed a danger to the community because he has the knowledge to get ahold of more weapons.
Prosecutors failed to meet the “burden of showing any clear and convincing evidence that there is no combination of conditions that would reasonably assure the safety of the community,” Judge John J. McConnell Jr. wrote in Monday’s decision.
He also cited Andruchuk’s lack of a criminal history, his strong ties to the area, and his employment status as factors supporting his release.
Although McConnell said at last week’s hearing that the number of guns involved in the case was “mind boggling,” he noted in Monday’s ruling that “there does not appear to be a law for regulation that prohibits such conduct.”
Andruchuk’s lawyer said at last week’s hearing that his client is simply a gun collector, that he has cooperated with law enforcement, and that it is safe to release him with GPS monitoring. His attorney in an email declined to comment Monday.
California
Officer not guilty of using excessive force
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — A San Francisco police officer was found not guilty in the 2019 beating of a man with a baton in what’s believed to be the city’s first trial against an officer over excessive force allegations while on duty.
A jury on Monday found Terrance Stangel not guilty of three charges of assault and battery he faced after striking Dacari Spiers with his baton several times, breaking his wrist and leg.
The jury deadlocked on a fourth charge of unlawfully beating Spiers under color of authority.
Stangel and his partner, Officer Cuauhtemoc Martinez, were responding to 911 calls about a man choking and dragging a woman near Fisherman’s Wharf when they encountered Spiers and his then-girlfriend on Oct. 7, 2019.
Martinez, who was not charged in the case, immediately grabbed Spiers while ordering him to get against the wall and neither Stangle nor Martinez gave him reasonable commands before Stangel started beating him with his baton, landing at least seven blows, prosecutors said.
“Five strikes when he’s lying on the ground, in the fetal position, writhing in pain, is proof beyond a reasonable doubt of assault and battery,” Assistant District Attorney Rebecca Young said during closing arguments in the three-week trial.
Stangel was charged with four felonies, including battery causing serious bodily injury, assault with a deadly weapon, assault with force likely to cause great bodily injury and assault under the color of authority.
Stangel testified that his aim was to protect his partner from a violent man after the interaction between Martinez and Spiers quickly turned into a melee.
“I was trying to get him to stop fighting my partner and I was trying to us get out of the situation without getting hurt,” Stangel said.
His defense attorney, Nicole Pifari, said Stangel used necessary force to control a violent situation created by Spiers and said the case was politically motivated.
“Their case is terrible. They had to create an alternate reality to bring this case,” Pifari said told the jury during closing arguments. “They lied to you.”
Stangel is one of six officers that have been charged by San Francisco District Attorney Chesa Boudin, a former public defender who was elected DA in 2019 as part of a national wave of progressive prosecutors opposed to mass incarceration.
The San Francisco Police Officers Association said it was pleased with the trial’s outcome and that the focus should be on keeping San Francisco safe.
“We are pleased that this jury focused on the facts, evidence, and the law and was not distracted by other factors in reaching their not guilty verdicts on three of the four charges before them,” Tracy McCray, the association’s acting president, said in a statement.
“With this trial’s conclusion, we must stay focused on addressing San Francisco’s rising crime and drug epidemic so everyone can feel safe in their own neighborhoods,” she added.
The prosecution became a flashpoint between Boudin and Police Chief Bill Scott amid competing claims that both agencies had withheld evidence.
A district attorney’s office investigator testified she felt pressured to sign an affidavit against Stangel that left out evidence that could possibly have helped him but U.S. District Court Judge Jacqueline Scott Corley ruled that the evidence would not have affected the case. She also fined the city, saying that the police department failed to disclose three interviews with officers who were involved, Mission Local first reported.
During the trial, Scott terminated an agreement that allows the district attorney’s office to investigate police shootings excessive use of force and in-custody deaths, citing serious concerns over the office’s impartiality. Both agreed to let the agreement stand for another two months after the state attorney general’s office intervened.
California
Judge denies bail to UFC champion charged in shooting
SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) — A judge in California denied bail Monday to former two-time UFC heavyweight champion Cain Velasquez, who faces attempted murder and multiple gun assault charges after authorities said he fired at a pickup truck carrying a man accused of sexually abusing a 4-year-old family member.
Velasquez was arrested in San Jose last week after he chased a pickup carrying the man through busy streets in three Silicon Valley cities, ramming the vehicle with his own pickup truck during an 11-mile (18-kilometer) high-speed chase, prosecutors said.
Velasquez, 39, fired a .40-caliber pistol at the vehicle several times, wounding the man’s stepfather, who was driving, in his arm and torso, prosecutors said.
Celebrity attorney Mark Geragos, who is representing Velasquez, told reporters outside the court that he plans on vindicating his client and getting him back with his family, the Mercury News reported.
Velasquez transitioned to pro-wrestling after retiring from his MMA career in 2019. A former two-time UFC heavyweight champion, he earned title belts in 2010 and 2012.
