New York
Appeals court: Trump’s gag order remains in effect after hush money conviction
NEW YORK (AP) — A New York appeals court on Thursday denied Donald Trump’s bid to end a gag order in his hush money criminal case, rejecting the Republican president’s argument that his May conviction “constitutes a change in circumstances” that warrants lifting the restrictions.
A five-judge panel in the state’s mid-level appellate court ruled that the trial judge, Juan M. Merchan, was correct in extending parts of the gag order until Trump is sentenced, writing that “the fair administration of justice necessarily includes sentencing.”
Merchan imposed the gag order in March, a few weeks before the trial started, after prosecutors raised concerns about Trump’s habit of attacking people involved in his cases. During the trial, he held Trump in contempt of court and fined him $10,000 for violations, and he threatened to jail him if he did it again.
The judge lifted some restrictions in June, freeing Trump to comment about witnesses and jurors but keeping trial prosecutors, court staffers and their families — including his own daughter — off limits until he is sentenced.
Trump, who has denied any wrongdoing, was originally scheduled to be sentenced July 11, but Merchan postponed it until Sept. 18, if necessary, while he weighs a defense request to throw out his conviction in the wake of the Supreme Court’s presidential immunity ruling.
Massachusetts
Man sentenced to consecutive life terms in killing of cop and bystander
BOSTON (AP) — A Massachusetts man was sentenced Wednesday to consecutive life terms for killing a police officer and a bystander, following emotional testimony from family and colleagues about the suffering the murders caused.
Emanuel Lopes, now 26, was fleeing the scene of a minor car crash on July 15, 2018 when prosecutors said he threw a large rock at the head of the investigating officer, Sgt. Michael Chesna, 42.
The rock knocked Chesna to the ground, unconscious, and then Lopes grabbed the officer’s gun and shot him multiple times, they said. Then he fled the scene, shooting 77-year-old Vera Adams, who was on her porch, as he tried to get away, prosecutors said.
When he was caught, Chesna’s service weapon was out of ammunition, authorities said.
Lopes was found guilty earlier this year of multiple charges, including murder. Wednesday’s sentences mean Lopes would be eligible for parole in 40 years — short of the 55 years requested by prosecutors.
This was the second trial for Lopes after Norfolk Superior Court Judge Beverly Cannone declared a mistrial last year when a jury couldn’t reach a unanimous verdict. The new jury also sent notes to Cannone saying it hadn’t been able to reach a decision, but the judge ordered jurors to keep deliberating.
During the second trial, prosecutor Greg Connor portrayed Lopes as a calculating killer and urged guilty verdicts on 11 charges.
The defense argued that Lopes, who had no previous criminal record, lacked criminal responsibility because he had a long history of mental illness and was in “a state of oblivion” on the day of the killings.
Lopes addressed the court before hearing his sentence, apologizing to the two families and the Weymouth police department. “I am so sorry. This should never have happened,” he said.
Two Weymouth officers who responded that day, both now retired, recalled the heartache of not being able to save Chesna and how the murder had ruined so many lives.
“The image of the defendant standing over Mike shooting him repeatedly is forever ingrained in my mind, and the flashbacks I experienced daily of this is something that no one should ever have to endure,” Nicholas Marini told the court.
Chesna’s widow Cindy read letters from her two children about missing their dad and recounted how she has struggled to rebuild their lives after the death of someone she described as a hero, her protector and “a beautiful person inside and out.”
An attorney for Lopes, Larry Tipton, asked that his client’s mental illness be considered in arguing for a lesser sentence — 25 years for the Chesna murder and 15 years for the Adams killing — to be served concurrently. He said his request wasn’t meant to “degrade or take away from the personal and honest beliefs and feelings of the family and of the victims.”
Minnesota
Man gets 20 years for fatally stabbing teen, wounding others while tubing
HUDSON, Wis. (AP) — A Minnesota man convicted in the slaying of a high school student and stabbings of four other people who were tubing on a western Wisconsin river was sentenced Wednesday to 20 years in prison.
A judge also ordered Nicolae Miu, 54, to serve six years of extended supervision following his release from prison in the July 2022 stabbings along the Apple River in St. Croix County, which sits along Wisconsin’s state line with Minnesota.
A jury convicted Miu, of Prior Lake, Minnesota, in April of first-degree reckless homicide, four counts of first-degree recklessly endangering safety and one count of battery.
Prosecutors had sought a 70-year prison term for Miu in the stabbing attack that killed Isaac Schuman, 17, of Stillwater, Minnesota, and wounded four others. The stabbing took place as Miu and the victims were tubing along the Apple River in separate groups.
Investigators said Miu attacked after people accused him of approaching children in the water. Miu told investigators that he was using a snorkel and goggles to look for a lost cellphone. He told investigators he felt threatened and acted in self-defense.
Miu pulled out a knife and began stabbing people after he was taunted by Schuman and his friends, the Minneapolis Star Tribune reported, citing court documents.
St. Croix County District Judge R. Michael Waterman said two of the victims who survived their stab wounds would have died without the prompt help of other tubers and emergency responders. He said all of the survivors “suffered permanent disfigurement.”
Waterman said Miu “made a series of very poor decisions” after being “confronted with words and boorish taunts and insults.”
“He fled the scene, leaving his victims to die while casually floating by them and emergency workers as if nothing had happened,” the judge said, noting Miu was arrested as he tried to leave the scene in his car.
Miu’s attorney, Aaron Nelson, asked the court for a “measured response” in its sentence. He said the defense understands and appreciates the “heartbreaking loss” of the Schuman family and other victims.
Appeals court: Trump’s gag order remains in effect after hush money conviction
NEW YORK (AP) — A New York appeals court on Thursday denied Donald Trump’s bid to end a gag order in his hush money criminal case, rejecting the Republican president’s argument that his May conviction “constitutes a change in circumstances” that warrants lifting the restrictions.
A five-judge panel in the state’s mid-level appellate court ruled that the trial judge, Juan M. Merchan, was correct in extending parts of the gag order until Trump is sentenced, writing that “the fair administration of justice necessarily includes sentencing.”
Merchan imposed the gag order in March, a few weeks before the trial started, after prosecutors raised concerns about Trump’s habit of attacking people involved in his cases. During the trial, he held Trump in contempt of court and fined him $10,000 for violations, and he threatened to jail him if he did it again.
The judge lifted some restrictions in June, freeing Trump to comment about witnesses and jurors but keeping trial prosecutors, court staffers and their families — including his own daughter — off limits until he is sentenced.
Trump, who has denied any wrongdoing, was originally scheduled to be sentenced July 11, but Merchan postponed it until Sept. 18, if necessary, while he weighs a defense request to throw out his conviction in the wake of the Supreme Court’s presidential immunity ruling.
Massachusetts
Man sentenced to consecutive life terms in killing of cop and bystander
BOSTON (AP) — A Massachusetts man was sentenced Wednesday to consecutive life terms for killing a police officer and a bystander, following emotional testimony from family and colleagues about the suffering the murders caused.
Emanuel Lopes, now 26, was fleeing the scene of a minor car crash on July 15, 2018 when prosecutors said he threw a large rock at the head of the investigating officer, Sgt. Michael Chesna, 42.
The rock knocked Chesna to the ground, unconscious, and then Lopes grabbed the officer’s gun and shot him multiple times, they said. Then he fled the scene, shooting 77-year-old Vera Adams, who was on her porch, as he tried to get away, prosecutors said.
When he was caught, Chesna’s service weapon was out of ammunition, authorities said.
Lopes was found guilty earlier this year of multiple charges, including murder. Wednesday’s sentences mean Lopes would be eligible for parole in 40 years — short of the 55 years requested by prosecutors.
This was the second trial for Lopes after Norfolk Superior Court Judge Beverly Cannone declared a mistrial last year when a jury couldn’t reach a unanimous verdict. The new jury also sent notes to Cannone saying it hadn’t been able to reach a decision, but the judge ordered jurors to keep deliberating.
During the second trial, prosecutor Greg Connor portrayed Lopes as a calculating killer and urged guilty verdicts on 11 charges.
The defense argued that Lopes, who had no previous criminal record, lacked criminal responsibility because he had a long history of mental illness and was in “a state of oblivion” on the day of the killings.
Lopes addressed the court before hearing his sentence, apologizing to the two families and the Weymouth police department. “I am so sorry. This should never have happened,” he said.
Two Weymouth officers who responded that day, both now retired, recalled the heartache of not being able to save Chesna and how the murder had ruined so many lives.
“The image of the defendant standing over Mike shooting him repeatedly is forever ingrained in my mind, and the flashbacks I experienced daily of this is something that no one should ever have to endure,” Nicholas Marini told the court.
Chesna’s widow Cindy read letters from her two children about missing their dad and recounted how she has struggled to rebuild their lives after the death of someone she described as a hero, her protector and “a beautiful person inside and out.”
An attorney for Lopes, Larry Tipton, asked that his client’s mental illness be considered in arguing for a lesser sentence — 25 years for the Chesna murder and 15 years for the Adams killing — to be served concurrently. He said his request wasn’t meant to “degrade or take away from the personal and honest beliefs and feelings of the family and of the victims.”
Minnesota
Man gets 20 years for fatally stabbing teen, wounding others while tubing
HUDSON, Wis. (AP) — A Minnesota man convicted in the slaying of a high school student and stabbings of four other people who were tubing on a western Wisconsin river was sentenced Wednesday to 20 years in prison.
A judge also ordered Nicolae Miu, 54, to serve six years of extended supervision following his release from prison in the July 2022 stabbings along the Apple River in St. Croix County, which sits along Wisconsin’s state line with Minnesota.
A jury convicted Miu, of Prior Lake, Minnesota, in April of first-degree reckless homicide, four counts of first-degree recklessly endangering safety and one count of battery.
Prosecutors had sought a 70-year prison term for Miu in the stabbing attack that killed Isaac Schuman, 17, of Stillwater, Minnesota, and wounded four others. The stabbing took place as Miu and the victims were tubing along the Apple River in separate groups.
Investigators said Miu attacked after people accused him of approaching children in the water. Miu told investigators that he was using a snorkel and goggles to look for a lost cellphone. He told investigators he felt threatened and acted in self-defense.
Miu pulled out a knife and began stabbing people after he was taunted by Schuman and his friends, the Minneapolis Star Tribune reported, citing court documents.
St. Croix County District Judge R. Michael Waterman said two of the victims who survived their stab wounds would have died without the prompt help of other tubers and emergency responders. He said all of the survivors “suffered permanent disfigurement.”
Waterman said Miu “made a series of very poor decisions” after being “confronted with words and boorish taunts and insults.”
“He fled the scene, leaving his victims to die while casually floating by them and emergency workers as if nothing had happened,” the judge said, noting Miu was arrested as he tried to leave the scene in his car.
Miu’s attorney, Aaron Nelson, asked the court for a “measured response” in its sentence. He said the defense understands and appreciates the “heartbreaking loss” of the Schuman family and other victims.
