Minnesota
Judge restricts defendants after witness tampering allegations surface in food fraud case
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — A federal judge on Wednesday ordered defendants in all upcoming cases stemming from a major COVID-19 pandemic fraud case in Minnesota to stay away from her courtroom after allegations of witness tampering surfaced in the trial of the alleged ringleader. Prosecutors say the scheme stole $250 million from a program meant to feed children.
Aimee Bock, who founded and led the now-defunct nonprofit, went on trial this month with Salim Said, a former co-owner of Safari Restaurant in Minneapolis, for their alleged roles in the scheme. They’re among 70 defendants charged in the investigation. Many of them have already pleaded guilty. The others are being tried in batches.
U.S. District Judge Nancy Brasel imposed the restrictions a day after Assistant U.S. Attorney Joe Thompson made the allegation. He said in court after testimony ended Tuesday that the alleged attempt was especially troubling in light of an attempt in June to bribe a juror in the first trial of defendants in the sprawling fraud case, which centers on a group called Feeding Our Future.
Prosecutors have called it one of the country’s largest pandemic-related fraud cases. The first trial was marred by an alleged attempt by some defendants and people linked with them to bribe a juror with a bag of $120,000 in cash. The juror went straight to police.
“Here we find ourselves again with people trying to corrupt our process,” Thompson told the judge.
Thompson said a defendant who’s slated for trial later this year, Abdinasir Abshir, approached a witness in the courthouse hallway while testimony was underway Tuesday and asked to speak with him in a bathroom. That witness, Sharmake Jama, the former owner of Brava Cafe in Rochester, pleaded guilty earlier along with four family members and agreed to testify against Bock and Said. Jama told his lawyer about the approach, who in turn informed the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
“I just want to be clear — witness tampering is a crime and a serious one,” Brasel said. “And that’s what we are trying to prevent here. I don’t know what occurred here today but I am going to find out.”
Brasel said she would interview Jama about the incident along with a federal marshal who witnessed some of the conversation, and one of the prosecutors.
In her order Wednesday, Brasel said all defendants charged in the upcoming cases must contact her chambers 24 hours in advance if they want to attend the current or other trials. This would allow the court to set up an overflow viewing location on a different floor of the federal courthouse in Minneapolis. She prohibited those defendants from coming to the floor where her courtroom is located.
Abshir’s attorney, Craig Cascarano, said Wednesday that his client never intended to intimidate any witness and didn’t even know that Jama was a potential witness. He said Abshir recognized him during a chance encounter in the hallway and just wanted to express his condolences over the recent deaths of Jama’s mother and sister.
The judge on Tuesday ordered Said and Bock not to speak with any witnesses or co-defendants in the case. The two are not in custody, and Brasel threatened to jail them if they violated the order.
Idaho
Judge declines to throw out genetic evidence in university killings
BOISE, Idaho (AP) — An Idaho judge declined to throw out key evidence against the man charged with murder in connection with the killings of four University of Idaho students, saying Wednesday that the genetic investigation process that it hinges on was not unconstitutional.
Judge Steven Hippler was not swayed by legal arguments made by Bryan Kohberger’s defense team that law enforcement violated his constitutional rights when they used a process called Investigative Genetic Genealogy, or IGG, to identify possible suspects.
The decision came nearly a month after a two-day hearing on the matter, removing what could have been a major wrench in the prosecution’s case before trial starts in August.
Kohberger is charged with four counts of murder in the deaths of Ethan Chapin, Xana Kernodle, Madison Mogen and Kaylee Goncalves, who were killed in the early morning of Nov. 13, 2022, at a rental home near campus in Moscow, Idaho. When asked to enter a plea last year, Kohberger stood silent, prompting a judge to enter a not-guilty plea on his behalf. Prosecutors have said they will seek the death penalty if Kohberger is convicted.
The IGG process often starts when DNA found at the scene of a crime doesn’t yield any results through standard law enforcement databases. When that happens, investigators may look at all the variations, or single nucleotide polymorphisms, that are in the DNA sample. Those SNPs, or “snips,” are then uploaded to a genealogy database like GEDmatch or FamilyTreeDNA to look for possible relatives of the person whose DNA was found at the scene.
In Kohberger’s case, investigators said they found “touch DNA,” or trace DNA, on the sheath of a knife that was found in the home where the students were fatally stabbed. The FBI used the IGG process on that DNA and the information identified Kohberger as a possible suspect.
Defense attorney Anne Taylor had argued that police never sought warrants to analyze the DNA found at the crime scene, nor did they get warrants to analyze the DNA of potential relatives that had been submitted to genealogy databases. She argued the court should suppress the IGG identification and everything that came from it.
The judge said that in order to throw out evidence based on a warrantless search, Kohberger’s defense would need to “show that he had legitimate expectation of privacy in the item or place searched.”
“Any privacy interest he can claim in this DNA was abandoned along with the sheath, to which he claims no ownership or knowledge,” said Hippler. “Even if no such abandonment occurred, defendant has not demonstrated it is reasonable to recognize a privacy interest in DNA left at a crime scene.”
The judge also ruled against three other defense motions objecting to the way warrants were issued and to suppress evidence such as cellphone data.
Mississippi
Judge orders newspaper to remove an editorial critical of city leaders
A Mississippi judge ordered a newspaper to remove an editorial criticizing the mayor and city leaders after the officials sued, sparking complaints from press advocates that it violates the First Amendment.
Chancery Judge Crystal Wise Martin issued the restraining order against the Clarksdale Press Register on Tuesday in connection with a Feb. 8 editorial titled “Secrecy, Deception Erode Public Trust.” The piece criticized the city for not sending the newspaper notice about a meeting the City Council held regarding a proposed tax on alcohol, marijuana and tobacco.
“I think it’s dangerous that a judge would issue a temporary restraining order without a hearing,” said Wyatt Emmerich, president of the paper’s parent company, Emmerich Newspapers. “We’ll fight it and see where it goes.”
The city’s lawsuit called the editorial libelous and said it “chilled and hindered” the city’s efforts to lobby for the tax with state legislators.
The editorial was no longer available on the newspaper’s website by Wednesday afternoon. Martin scheduled a Feb. 27 hearing in the case.
Mayor Chuck Espy said the editorial unfairly implied that the city had broken the law with its meeting and cited another portion that questioned, “Have commissioners or the mayor gotten kick-backs from the community?”
“We’re all for the press doing their job. We’re all for as much transparency as possible,” he said. “Just tell the truth. I don’t think that’s too much to ask for.”
Clarksdale is about 71 miles (115 kilometers) south of Memphis. The order drew complaints from press advocates in Mississippi and nationwide.
“This is a rather astounding order and we feel it is egregious and chilling,” said Layne Bruce, executive director of the Mississippi Press Association. “It clearly runs afoul of the First Amendment and we fully support the Press Register’s right to report and offer commentary on the business of Clarksdale’s city government.”
Lisa Zycherman, vice president of legal programs at the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, said the order “constitutes censorship and is unquestionably a serious First Amendment violation.”
There have been other attempts to silence news outlets in recent years. In 2023, a Kansas police department raided a newspaper’s office and the home of its owner and publisher after claiming the paper and a reporter potentially committed identity theft and other computer crimes in obtaining and verifying information about a local business owner’s driving record. The raid was later investigated and the former police chief who led it was charged last year with obstruction of justice.
Alabama
Grand jury recommends abolishing police department for ‘rampant culture of corruption’
HANCEVILLE, Ala. (AP) — A grand jury recommended abolishing a small Alabama police department because of a “rampant culture of corruption” after charging five officers with a variety of crimes, officials announced Wednesday.
Cullman County District Attorney Champ Crocker announced Wednesday that a grand jury had indicted Hanceville Police Chief Jason Marlin and four of his officers on a variety of charges that included accusations of mishandling or removing evidence from the department’s evidence room.
“This is a sad day for law enforcement, but at the same time it is a good day for the rule of law,” Crocker said during a news conference.
The grand jury also issued a series of scathing findings about the department following an investigation that included looking at video of the department’s evidence room.
“There is a rampant culture of corruption in the Hanceville Police Department that has recently operated as more of a criminal enterprise than a law enforcement agency,” the grand jury reported. Hanceville is small city of 3,200 people about 45 miles (72 km) north of Birmingham.
Crocker said one of the most concerning things was that there was “unfettered access” to the department’s evidence room. He showed photos of a hole in the wall and a green broomstick that was used to “jimmy open” the door.
The grand jury found that the departmental negligence played a role in the 2024 death of a dispatcher who was found dead at work from a suspected drug overdose. Crocker did not elaborate on the finding, but he said that “nothing was secure about the evidence room” and the dispatcher had access to it on his final day of work.
Three of the officers were charged with drug-related crimes, but Crocker said that did not involve drugs held in the evidence room. One of the officers was charged with providing hydrocodone and steroids to other people, according to court records.
Court records did not show if Marlin has an attorney to speak on his behalf. A text message sent to a possible phone number listed for him was not immediately returned.
Hanceville Mayor Jimmy Sawyer issued a statement saying that the city council will consider the grand jury’s recommendations and will “act swiftly and decisively to address the problems within the Police Department.”
“It is unfortunate that the actions of a few have tarnished our city’s good name,’’ Sawyer said.
Judge restricts defendants after witness tampering allegations surface in food fraud case
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — A federal judge on Wednesday ordered defendants in all upcoming cases stemming from a major COVID-19 pandemic fraud case in Minnesota to stay away from her courtroom after allegations of witness tampering surfaced in the trial of the alleged ringleader. Prosecutors say the scheme stole $250 million from a program meant to feed children.
Aimee Bock, who founded and led the now-defunct nonprofit, went on trial this month with Salim Said, a former co-owner of Safari Restaurant in Minneapolis, for their alleged roles in the scheme. They’re among 70 defendants charged in the investigation. Many of them have already pleaded guilty. The others are being tried in batches.
U.S. District Judge Nancy Brasel imposed the restrictions a day after Assistant U.S. Attorney Joe Thompson made the allegation. He said in court after testimony ended Tuesday that the alleged attempt was especially troubling in light of an attempt in June to bribe a juror in the first trial of defendants in the sprawling fraud case, which centers on a group called Feeding Our Future.
Prosecutors have called it one of the country’s largest pandemic-related fraud cases. The first trial was marred by an alleged attempt by some defendants and people linked with them to bribe a juror with a bag of $120,000 in cash. The juror went straight to police.
“Here we find ourselves again with people trying to corrupt our process,” Thompson told the judge.
Thompson said a defendant who’s slated for trial later this year, Abdinasir Abshir, approached a witness in the courthouse hallway while testimony was underway Tuesday and asked to speak with him in a bathroom. That witness, Sharmake Jama, the former owner of Brava Cafe in Rochester, pleaded guilty earlier along with four family members and agreed to testify against Bock and Said. Jama told his lawyer about the approach, who in turn informed the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
“I just want to be clear — witness tampering is a crime and a serious one,” Brasel said. “And that’s what we are trying to prevent here. I don’t know what occurred here today but I am going to find out.”
Brasel said she would interview Jama about the incident along with a federal marshal who witnessed some of the conversation, and one of the prosecutors.
In her order Wednesday, Brasel said all defendants charged in the upcoming cases must contact her chambers 24 hours in advance if they want to attend the current or other trials. This would allow the court to set up an overflow viewing location on a different floor of the federal courthouse in Minneapolis. She prohibited those defendants from coming to the floor where her courtroom is located.
Abshir’s attorney, Craig Cascarano, said Wednesday that his client never intended to intimidate any witness and didn’t even know that Jama was a potential witness. He said Abshir recognized him during a chance encounter in the hallway and just wanted to express his condolences over the recent deaths of Jama’s mother and sister.
The judge on Tuesday ordered Said and Bock not to speak with any witnesses or co-defendants in the case. The two are not in custody, and Brasel threatened to jail them if they violated the order.
Idaho
Judge declines to throw out genetic evidence in university killings
BOISE, Idaho (AP) — An Idaho judge declined to throw out key evidence against the man charged with murder in connection with the killings of four University of Idaho students, saying Wednesday that the genetic investigation process that it hinges on was not unconstitutional.
Judge Steven Hippler was not swayed by legal arguments made by Bryan Kohberger’s defense team that law enforcement violated his constitutional rights when they used a process called Investigative Genetic Genealogy, or IGG, to identify possible suspects.
The decision came nearly a month after a two-day hearing on the matter, removing what could have been a major wrench in the prosecution’s case before trial starts in August.
Kohberger is charged with four counts of murder in the deaths of Ethan Chapin, Xana Kernodle, Madison Mogen and Kaylee Goncalves, who were killed in the early morning of Nov. 13, 2022, at a rental home near campus in Moscow, Idaho. When asked to enter a plea last year, Kohberger stood silent, prompting a judge to enter a not-guilty plea on his behalf. Prosecutors have said they will seek the death penalty if Kohberger is convicted.
The IGG process often starts when DNA found at the scene of a crime doesn’t yield any results through standard law enforcement databases. When that happens, investigators may look at all the variations, or single nucleotide polymorphisms, that are in the DNA sample. Those SNPs, or “snips,” are then uploaded to a genealogy database like GEDmatch or FamilyTreeDNA to look for possible relatives of the person whose DNA was found at the scene.
In Kohberger’s case, investigators said they found “touch DNA,” or trace DNA, on the sheath of a knife that was found in the home where the students were fatally stabbed. The FBI used the IGG process on that DNA and the information identified Kohberger as a possible suspect.
Defense attorney Anne Taylor had argued that police never sought warrants to analyze the DNA found at the crime scene, nor did they get warrants to analyze the DNA of potential relatives that had been submitted to genealogy databases. She argued the court should suppress the IGG identification and everything that came from it.
The judge said that in order to throw out evidence based on a warrantless search, Kohberger’s defense would need to “show that he had legitimate expectation of privacy in the item or place searched.”
“Any privacy interest he can claim in this DNA was abandoned along with the sheath, to which he claims no ownership or knowledge,” said Hippler. “Even if no such abandonment occurred, defendant has not demonstrated it is reasonable to recognize a privacy interest in DNA left at a crime scene.”
The judge also ruled against three other defense motions objecting to the way warrants were issued and to suppress evidence such as cellphone data.
Mississippi
Judge orders newspaper to remove an editorial critical of city leaders
A Mississippi judge ordered a newspaper to remove an editorial criticizing the mayor and city leaders after the officials sued, sparking complaints from press advocates that it violates the First Amendment.
Chancery Judge Crystal Wise Martin issued the restraining order against the Clarksdale Press Register on Tuesday in connection with a Feb. 8 editorial titled “Secrecy, Deception Erode Public Trust.” The piece criticized the city for not sending the newspaper notice about a meeting the City Council held regarding a proposed tax on alcohol, marijuana and tobacco.
“I think it’s dangerous that a judge would issue a temporary restraining order without a hearing,” said Wyatt Emmerich, president of the paper’s parent company, Emmerich Newspapers. “We’ll fight it and see where it goes.”
The city’s lawsuit called the editorial libelous and said it “chilled and hindered” the city’s efforts to lobby for the tax with state legislators.
The editorial was no longer available on the newspaper’s website by Wednesday afternoon. Martin scheduled a Feb. 27 hearing in the case.
Mayor Chuck Espy said the editorial unfairly implied that the city had broken the law with its meeting and cited another portion that questioned, “Have commissioners or the mayor gotten kick-backs from the community?”
“We’re all for the press doing their job. We’re all for as much transparency as possible,” he said. “Just tell the truth. I don’t think that’s too much to ask for.”
Clarksdale is about 71 miles (115 kilometers) south of Memphis. The order drew complaints from press advocates in Mississippi and nationwide.
“This is a rather astounding order and we feel it is egregious and chilling,” said Layne Bruce, executive director of the Mississippi Press Association. “It clearly runs afoul of the First Amendment and we fully support the Press Register’s right to report and offer commentary on the business of Clarksdale’s city government.”
Lisa Zycherman, vice president of legal programs at the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, said the order “constitutes censorship and is unquestionably a serious First Amendment violation.”
There have been other attempts to silence news outlets in recent years. In 2023, a Kansas police department raided a newspaper’s office and the home of its owner and publisher after claiming the paper and a reporter potentially committed identity theft and other computer crimes in obtaining and verifying information about a local business owner’s driving record. The raid was later investigated and the former police chief who led it was charged last year with obstruction of justice.
Alabama
Grand jury recommends abolishing police department for ‘rampant culture of corruption’
HANCEVILLE, Ala. (AP) — A grand jury recommended abolishing a small Alabama police department because of a “rampant culture of corruption” after charging five officers with a variety of crimes, officials announced Wednesday.
Cullman County District Attorney Champ Crocker announced Wednesday that a grand jury had indicted Hanceville Police Chief Jason Marlin and four of his officers on a variety of charges that included accusations of mishandling or removing evidence from the department’s evidence room.
“This is a sad day for law enforcement, but at the same time it is a good day for the rule of law,” Crocker said during a news conference.
The grand jury also issued a series of scathing findings about the department following an investigation that included looking at video of the department’s evidence room.
“There is a rampant culture of corruption in the Hanceville Police Department that has recently operated as more of a criminal enterprise than a law enforcement agency,” the grand jury reported. Hanceville is small city of 3,200 people about 45 miles (72 km) north of Birmingham.
Crocker said one of the most concerning things was that there was “unfettered access” to the department’s evidence room. He showed photos of a hole in the wall and a green broomstick that was used to “jimmy open” the door.
The grand jury found that the departmental negligence played a role in the 2024 death of a dispatcher who was found dead at work from a suspected drug overdose. Crocker did not elaborate on the finding, but he said that “nothing was secure about the evidence room” and the dispatcher had access to it on his final day of work.
Three of the officers were charged with drug-related crimes, but Crocker said that did not involve drugs held in the evidence room. One of the officers was charged with providing hydrocodone and steroids to other people, according to court records.
Court records did not show if Marlin has an attorney to speak on his behalf. A text message sent to a possible phone number listed for him was not immediately returned.
Hanceville Mayor Jimmy Sawyer issued a statement saying that the city council will consider the grand jury’s recommendations and will “act swiftly and decisively to address the problems within the Police Department.”
“It is unfortunate that the actions of a few have tarnished our city’s good name,’’ Sawyer said.
