tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-61397180425869501512024-02-20T07:50:55.339-08:00Crimes and TrialsNews to find breaking news, current events, the latest headlines, news photos, analysis & opinion on top stories, world, business, politics, entertainment, sports, technology, and more.Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger407125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6139718042586950151.post-77314457789919447562011-08-01T07:49:00.000-07:002011-08-01T07:49:00.264-07:00US hikers in Iran court, hope for end to ordeal
(AFP) <P>TEHRAN (AFP) – A new hearing opens Sunday in the trial of three American hikers who face espionage charges in Iran after straying into the country two years ago, an ordeal their lawyer hopes will have a happy ending.</P><P>Shane Bauer and Josh Fattal, both 29, were arrested along with Sarah Shourd, 32, on the unmarked border between Iran and Iraq on July 31, 2009.</P><P>Iran accuses the three of "spying and illegally entering the country."</P><P>They have pleaded not guilty to spying charges, saying they were hiking in Iraq's northern province of Kurdistan when they innocently walked into Iran across an unmarked border.</P><P>Washington has vehemently denied Tehran's charges and has pressed for their release.</P><P>Shourd, who got engaged with Bauer while in prison in Tehran, is being tried in absentia after she returned to the United States following her release on humanitarian and medical grounds in September 2010, for which bail of about 500,000 dollars was paid.</P><P>"Since the hearing date coincides with the two year anniversary of their arrest, and it is the beginning of the holy month of Ramadan, I am hopeful that this case has a happy ending," their lawyer Masoud Shafii told AFP on Wednesday referring to the Muslim fasting month when compassion, the spirit of caring and sharing is advocated.</P><P>"I believe that they are innocent; the espionage charges have no relevance. Even if the court does not accept my defence, the two years they've spent behind bars is punishment enough," he added referring to the illegal entry charge.</P><P>Ahead of the new hearing their families issued a statement on Friday in New York, and Shourd used her statement to wish Muslims in Iran and everywhere a blessed Ramadan on behalf of the families of the two men.</P><P>"Please, if you could make a little room in your prayers on the eve of Ramadan for my fiance, my friend and our families, it would mean the world to us," she said.</P><P>The trial has been hit by a number of delays since November 6, 2010, when it was postponed to February 6, 2011 over what was termed "an error in the judicial proceedings."</P><P>Another hearing scheduled for May 11 this year was cancelled after Fattal and Bauer were not brought before the court, according to Shafii.</P><P>Shourd, who did not attend the February 6 hearing, told AFP in Washington that she will not return to Iran to join the other two in the dock.</P><P>She said she had sent Iran's revolutionary court a five-page evaluation by a clinical forensic psychologist, who concluded she was at high risk of psychological problems if she returned to face espionage charges.</P><P>Shafii said he has met Bauer and Fattal only twice, the last time on February 6, 2011 when they appeared in court for the first hearing.</P><P>"I still have not met them (for) the lawyer-client meeting that I have requested. They told me that they will inform me and I am still pursuing it," he said.</P><P>Their case has attracted high profile support in the United States.</P><P>On May 24, the legendary Muslim boxing champion Muhammad Ali supported a call for Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei to free Bauer and Fattal. <P>Amnesty International on Friday renewed calls for Iran to release the two hikers. <P>The hikers' detention has added to the animosity between arch-foes Tehran and Washington, which has increased over Iran's disputed nuclear drive and outspoken remarks by hardline President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.</P><br /><p><a href="http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/crime/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20110731/ts_afp/iranushikerstrial" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">View the original article here</a></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6139718042586950151.post-33213891501181263262011-08-01T06:45:00.000-07:002011-08-01T06:45:00.961-07:00Jailed Las Vegas man stabs cellmate to death with pencil
(Reuters) <P>LAS VEGAS (Reuters) – A Las Vegas man jailed on charges of murdering his nephew killed his cellmate on Friday, stabbing him with a pencil during a fight in their cell, police said.</P><P>Guards found the cellmate unconscious and wounded during an early morning bed check at the Clark County Detention Center, and he was pronounced dead at the scene, police said. They said he had been in a fight with his cellmate.</P><P>"The suspect physically battered the deceased inmate and stabbed him with a pencil," police said in a statement. Police spokesman Bill Cassell said pencils were among items allowed in the jail.</P><P>Carl Guilford, 18, was charged with murder in connection with the death, the first killing of an inmate in the jail since 1979, when an inmate strangled his cellmate. That inmate was sentenced to death for the crime and remains on death row.</P><P>A local television news station, 8NewsNow, reported on its website that Guilford had been in custody over the suffocation death of his 6-year-old nephew.</P><P>(Reporting by Cynthia Johnston; Editing by Jerry Norton)</P><br /><p><a href="http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/crime/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20110729/us_nm/us_crime_pencil" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">View the original article here</a></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6139718042586950151.post-61555647527351627332011-08-01T05:24:00.000-07:002011-08-01T05:24:00.666-07:00US soldier charged in Fort Hood bomb plot
(AFP) <P>WACO, Texas (AFP) – A soldier suspected of planning an attack on fellow soldiers near a US military base refused to stand up for the judge during a brief court appearance and was escorted shouting from the room.</P><P>Army Private Naser Jason Abdo has been charged with possession of an illegal firearm after his Wednesday arrest at a Killeen, Texas motel where police found bombmaking materials and literature in his room, along with a copy of the Al-Qaeda English-language magazine, Inspire.</P><P>"Abdeer Qassim al-Janabi, Iraq 2006! Nidal Hasan, Fort Hood 2009!" Abdo shouted as he was escorted out of the Texas courtroom, apparently referring to an Iraqi girl who was raped and killed by US soldiers in Mahmudiyah in 2006, and Major Nidal Hasan who is facing a court martial for killing 13 people and wounding 32 others at a Fort Hood deployment facility in November 2009.</P><P>Friday's hearing lasted just five minutes. Abdo, who was wearing a white prison jump suit, refused to stand up when the bailiff called "All rise," as Judge Jeffrey Manske entered the courtroom. Eventually four US marshals took him by the arms and made him stand before the judge.</P><P>Manske questioned Abdo about his education, and the AWOL soldier said he graduated from high school and had one year of college. When the judge asked if he was under the influence of drugs or alcohol, Abdo responded with a "no."</P><P>During an interview with FBI officials, Abdo admitted he planned to build two bombs in his budget hotel room by packing gun powder and shrapnel into pressure cookers he would then detonate at a restaurant popular with soldiers from Fort Hood, a sprawling US Army base in Texas, according to the affidavit.</P><P>Items found in his room included a .40 caliber handgun, ammunition, an Inspire article entitled "Make a bomb in the kitchen of your Mom" and bombmaking components -- including six bottles of smokeless gunpowder, shotgun shells, shotgun pellets, two clocks, two spools of auto wire, an electric drill and two pressure cookers, court documents said.</P><P>The criminal complaint filed against him was unsealed in Waco, Texas, by Judge Mankse. If convicted, Abdo faces up to 10 years in federal prison and a maximum $250,000 fine.</P><P>Attached to the 101st Airborne Division at Fort Campbell, Kentucky, Abdo had sought conscientious objector status to refuse deployment to Afghanistan, saying he could not fight other Muslims.</P><P>But after his status was granted in May, Abdo was charged with possession of child pornography on a computer. He then left Fort Campbell without permission early this month.</P><P>The Washington Post, citing congressional and federal officials, said Abdo had been inspired by Hasan and his shooting spree at Fort Hood in 2009.</P><P>Hasan, who mowed down fellow soldiers before he was set to deploy to Afghanistan, goes on trial March 5 and faces the death penalty if convicted.</P><P>Investigators allege that Hasan, like Abdo born in the United States of Palestinian descent, had been in contact with key Al-Qaeda cleric Anwar al-Awlaqi, a US citizen at large in Yemen.</P><P>Abdo was arrested following a tip from a clerk at Guns Galore, a store where Hasan had bought weapons used in the deadly attack. Abdo had purchased gunpowder, shotgun ammunition and a magazine for a semi-automatic handgun from the shop.</P><br /><p><a href="http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/crime/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20110730/ts_alt_afp/usshootingcrimemilitarycourt" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">View the original article here</a></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6139718042586950151.post-79796414497304333632011-08-01T03:37:00.000-07:002011-08-01T03:37:00.910-07:00Dahmer survivor in court in homeless man's death
(AP) <P>MILWAUKEE – The man who led Milwaukee police to serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer 20 years ago made his first court appearance in a homeless man's death.</P><P>Tracy Edwards and another man are charged with recklessly endangering safety in the death of Johnny Jordan, who drowned after being thrown off a downtown Milwaukee bridge. Edwards and co-defendant Timothy Carr are accused of arguing with Jordan and throwing him off the bridge Tuesday.</P><P>Edwards' attorney asked the court commissioner to allow Edwards to participate by phone Saturday. The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports the request was denied, and the commissioner set bail at $10,000 and scheduled an Aug. 8 preliminary hearing.</P><P>Edwards, now 52, is known for his July 1991 escape from Dahmer's apartment, which led to the serial killer's arrest.</P><br /><p><a href="http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/crime/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110731/ap_on_re_us/us_dahmer_s_survivor_charged" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">View the original article here</a></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6139718042586950151.post-51537870229304510762011-08-01T01:53:00.000-07:002011-08-01T01:53:00.155-07:00Price tag for Casey Anthony case near $700,000
(Reuters) <P>ORLANDO, Fla (Reuters) – The Casey Anthony murder investigation and trial cost taxpayers almost $700,000, based on new tallies on Friday from the major agencies involved in the case.</P><P>Prosecutors are seeking reimbursement from Anthony, 25, who was acquitted July 5 of murdering her two-year-old daughter Caylee. Casey Anthony was convicted of four charges of lying to detectives in 2008 and leading them astray from the first day of the investigation into the fate of the missing toddler.</P><P>A hearing is scheduled for August 25 at which trial judge Belvin Perry will decide how much of the bill Anthony must pay.</P><P>Although Anthony was declared indigent for purposes of her legal fees, rumors abound of possible high-priced book deals and paid interviews that could bring the infamous single mother a small fortune.</P><P>The single largest bill was $293,123 from the Orange County Sheriff's Office, which released its figures Friday. Even that includes only costs of the criminal investigation division from the time Caylee's grandmother reported her missing to the discovery five months later of her remains.</P><P>Many other expenses could not be fairly isolated, according to an accounting by Lieutenant Paul Zambouros.</P><P>"An incredible amount of manpower was deployed and over 6,000 tips were received requiring extensive man hours," Zambouros wrote in his report.</P><P>Also reported Friday was the $186,903 expended by the court clerk to select a jury, and to house and feed the 12 jurors and five alternate jurors sequestered throughout the nearly seven-week trial.</P><P>The prosecutor's office previously reported expenses of $91,000 on the case. And, after Anthony was declared indigent for legal fees, taxpayers paid $119,000 for defense expenses requested by her lawyer, according to the state Justice Administrative Commission.</P><P>The whereabouts of Anthony, released from jail on July 17, and details of how she is supporting herself are not publicly known.</P><P>The Anthony case riveted the nation for three years, first during a nationwide search for the missing Caylee and, later, as evidence piled up about Casey Anthony's many lies, the strong odor of decomposition in her car trunk, and her inappropriate behavior for a mother of a supposed missing child.</P><P>Caylee's remains, with duct tape hanging from her skull, were found in swampy woods near the Anthony home five months after she was reported missing. All that was left of the child were bones and hair, making it impossible to scientifically determine a cause of death.</P><P>Also standing in line to collect damages from Casey Anthony is Texas EquuSearch, which mounted a $100,000 search for the toddler after Anthony misled detectives by telling them Caylee had been kidnapped by a nanny named Zenaida Fernandez-Gonzalez.</P><P>Casey Anthony's lawyer Jose Baez acknowledged at trial that the nanny was a figment of her imagination.</P><P>But a Central Florida woman by the name of Zenaida Fernandez-Gonzalez is suing Anthony for damages, saying her life was destroyed after Anthony inserted her name into the case.</P><P>(Editing by Jerry Norton)</P><br /><p><a href="http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/crime/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20110729/us_nm/us_crime_anthony" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">View the original article here</a></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6139718042586950151.post-20645101953700100552011-08-01T00:18:00.000-07:002011-08-01T00:18:00.351-07:00Police: Colorado shooting suspect takes own life
(AP) <P>COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – Police say they believe the suspect in a triple shooting has taken his own life following an hours-long standoff at a Colorado Springs apartment complex.</P><P>Police said in a release that 24-year-old shooting suspect Michael Arangio had barricaded himself Saturday inside a unit in The Resort at University Park complex.</P><P>Officers say they had attempted to talk Arangio into surrendering peacefully. They also tossed tear gas into the apartment, but he refused to leave.</P><P>A bomb squad robot sent into the unit after several hours discovered the man's body, and police say they believe he shot himself.</P><P>Arangio is suspected in a shooting that left three teens dead Wednesday night.</P><P>Police had received a tip from his parents that he was in the complex.</P><br /><p><a href="http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/crime/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110731/ap_on_re_us/co_colorado_shootings" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">View the original article here</a></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6139718042586950151.post-66637838891792086042011-07-31T22:41:00.000-07:002011-07-31T22:41:00.242-07:00Judge says NYT reporter must testify, limits scope
(AP) <P>ALEXANDRIA, Va. – A federal judge ruled Friday that a New York Times reporter must testify at the trial of a former CIA officer charged with leaking classified information about Iran, but limited the scope of what the journalist could be asked about.</P><P>Prosecutors have subpoenaed Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter James Risen to testify at the September trial of Jeffrey Sterling, an ex-CIA officer from Missouri. Risen's lawyers had argued that the First Amendment should shield him from having to testify about his sources.</P><P>On Friday, U.S. District Judge Leonie Brinkema said Risen must testify at the trial. But she ruled that his testimony be limited to four topics.</P><P>Those topics are that he wrote an article or book chapter; that they are accurate; that statements referred to in Risen's newspaper article or book chapter as being made by an unnamed source were in fact made to Risen by an unnamed source; and that statements referred to as being made by an identified source were in fact made by that identified source.</P><P>The government alleges Sterling was a key source for a chapter in Risen's 2006 book "State of War," which details a botched CIA effort during the Clinton administration, dubbed Operation Merlin, to thwart Iran's nuclear ambitions by secretly giving the Iranians intentionally flawed blueprints through a Russian intermediary.</P><P>"This is an important victory for the First Amendment and investigative reporters everywhere," Risen's lawyer Joel Kurtzberg said Friday evening, referring to the limits on what Risen can be asked to testify about.</P><P>Last year, Brinkema quashed a similar subpoena issued to Risen when the case was in front of a grand jury. She ruled that the government simply didn't need Risen's testimony to obtain an indictment in light of other evidence possessed by the government, including phone records showing multiple calls between Risen and Sterling.</P><P>Prosecutors had argued that Risen's First Amendment rights paled in comparison to the government's need to prosecute criminals and obtain evidence to which juries are rightfully entitled.</P><P>A spokesman for the Justice Department did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment.</P><br /><p><a href="http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/crime/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110730/ap_on_re_us/us_reporter_testimony_cia_leak" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">View the original article here</a></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6139718042586950151.post-48874126835865730032011-07-31T21:22:00.000-07:002011-07-31T21:22:00.633-07:00Anesthesia killed Vegas woman in cosmetic surgery
(AP) <P>LAS VEGAS – A husband and wife who performed an illegal buttocks enhancement surgery that resulted in a Las Vegas woman's death are expected to plead guilty to manslaughter despite an autopsy report that shows the death was accidental.</P><P>Elena Caro, 42, died from an allergic reaction to the tumescent anesthesia commonly used in cosmetic surgery procedures, Clark County Coroner Mike Murphy said Friday.</P><P>But it is unlikely that Ruben Matallana-Galvas and Carmen Torres-Sanchez would be able to successfully fight the criminal case against them because the death occurred during an illegal operation in which proper safety procedures were not followed, according to Matallana-Galvas' defense attorney, Scott Coffee. The couple will plead guilty to reduced charges when they return to court Thursday under a plea deal, he said</P><P>Matallana-Galvas knows his makeshift medical office did not have the proper tools to care for Caro, Coffee said.</P><P>"The doctor didn't take the actions that we hope he would take in light of the bad reaction," he said. "He feels terrible for what happened and he wants to take responsibility for what he did."</P><P>Matallana-Galvas and Torres-Sanchez are charged with multiple crimes for Caro's death, including second-degree murder and practicing medicine without a license. They pleaded not guilty in May and were scheduled to stand trial in February.</P><P>But prosecutors have been working to avoid trial by persuading the husband and wife to plead guilty to manslaughter and practicing without a medical license. Matallana-Galvas attempted to go along with the deal during a hearing last week. He withdrew his not guilty plea and pleaded guilty, but the agreement was dropped when Torres-Sanchez refused to plead guilty. She apparently changed her mind and is expected to take the deal at the hearing scheduled for Thursday.</P><P>Under the plea deal, Matallana-Galvas and Torres-Sanchez could each serve up to nine years, Coffee said. A lawyer representing Torres-Sanchez could not be reached for comment.</P><P>The husband and wife conducted the procedure on Caro in a temporary medical clinic in the back of a Las Vegas tile shop and were not licensed to practice medicine anywhere in the United States.</P><P>Coffee said the autopsy report did not come as a surprise.</P><P>"The case is pretty much exactly what we thought it was from the beginning, which is it's a medical procedure where no one intended to do harm to this woman whatsoever," he said.</P><P>Josh Tomsheck, a former Clark County chief deputy district attorney, said the autopsy report wouldn't bother him if he was prosecuting the case.</P><P>"It's not going to be an issue for the state," he said. "They are saying essentially that there was a felony committed and during the course of that felony the person died. It doesn't matter whether it's intentional or accidental."</P><P>Dr. Julio Garcia, a plastic surgeon in Las Vegas of 24 years, said valid medical practitioners know they might be held accountable if a patient is not treated after reacting badly to anesthesia.</P><P>"You should monitor them for at least two or three hours after the procedure," he said. "You don't want to do the procedure and leave because the patient could have an adverse reaction, like that patient did."</P><P>Tumescent anesthesia is used to make a specific part of a patient's body numb. Unlike general anesthesia, it does not put the patient to sleep.</P><P>"It decreases the pain and it decreases the bruising," said Dr. Jeffrey Roth, a Las Vegas plastic surgeon who also uses general anesthesia on patients to ensure they don't feel any pain and monitors their progress with the help of a certified anesthetist. "In other words, we are not going to do surgery in the back of a tile shop."</P><P>Caro was found roaming the streets in agony less than four hours after Matallana-Galvas and Torres-Sanchez injected her buttocks with a gel substance on April 9. She was taken to a hospital, where she died that day. <P>Matallana-Galvas and Torres-Sanchez allegedly cleared out their medical office after treating Caro and headed to McCarran International Airport in Las Vegas, where they attempted to flee to their native Colombia, according an arrest report. The husband and wife had purchased plane tickets to return to Colombia on April 22 but were trying to catch an earlier flight. They were arrested at the airport. <P>Matallana-Galvas told detectives that Caro walked away from his office after the procedure. He said he was a homeopathic doctor in Colombia and did not have the proper equipment to perform the buttocks procedure. <P>Caro was married and had a teenage daughter. A week before her death, she had received facial Botox injections from Matallana-Galvas. When no problems arose, she returned for the buttocks injection. <P>Botox and similar types of injections are minimally invasive but are still considered cosmetic surgery, according to the American Society of Plastic Surgeons. <P>Roth said patients who seek cosmetic surgery need to ensure they are receiving proper care. <P>"The whole tragedy of this whole thing was that this poor woman went to somebody who was not licensed," Roth said. "This poor lady may have saved a few dollars, but it cost her her life."</P><br /><p><a href="http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/crime/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110729/ap_on_re_us/us_cosmetic_surgery_death_vegas" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">View the original article here</a></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6139718042586950151.post-86993276504958129612011-07-31T20:02:00.000-07:002011-07-31T20:02:00.827-07:00AWOL soldier defiantly shouts '09 suspect's name
(AP) <P>WACO, Texas – Coolly defiant, Pfc. Naser Abdo shouted "Nidal Hasan Fort Hood 2009!" as he was led out of the courtroom Friday, an apparent homage to the suspect in the worst mass shooting ever on a U.S. military installation. He condemned the attack less than a year ago, but is now accused of trying to repeat it.</P><P>Investigators say Abdo, who cited his Muslim beliefs in requesting conscientious objector status last year, was found in a motel room three miles from Fort Hood's main gate with a handgun, an article titled "Make a bomb in the kitchen of your Mom" and the ingredients for an explosive device, including gunpowder, shrapnel and pressure cookers. An article with that title appears in an al-Qaida magazine.</P><P>Abdo went absent without leave from Fort Campbell, Ky., early this month after being charged with possessing child pornography.</P><P>Police and the Army say Abdo admitted plotting an attack, but in Fuhais, Jordan, his father insisted the allegations were "all lies from A to Z."</P><P>"My son loved people no matter who they are, whether Jews or Christians," Jamal Abdo said. "Naser is not the kind of a person who harbors evil for the other people, he cannot kill anyone and he could not have done any bad thing."</P><P>Jamal Abdo, 52, is a Jordanian who lived near Fort Hood in Killeen for 25 years until he was deported from the United States last year after being convicted of soliciting a minor.</P><P>His 21-year-old son was ordered held without bond Friday. He is charged with possession of an unregistered destructive device in connection with a bomb plot and has yet to enter a plea. If convicted, he could face up to 10 years in prison.</P><P>It was not immediately known if he would face additional charges. "Our office will pursue federal charges where the evidence takes us," said Daryl Fields, spokesman for federal prosecutors.</P><P>In court, Abdo refused to stand when the judge entered — U.S. marshals pulled him from his seat — but he answered the judge's questions politely.</P><P>On his way out, he yelled "Iraq 2006!" and the name of Abeer Qassim al-Janabi, a 14-year-old Iraqi girl who was raped that year before she and her family were killed. Five current or former U.S. soldiers went to prison, one for a life term, for their roles in that attack.</P><P>He also shouted the name of Hasan, an Army major and psychiatrist who is charged with killing 13 people at Fort Hood.</P><P>Abdo's court-appointed attorney did not comment. His next hearing was set for Aug. 4.</P><P>According to court documents, Abdo told investigators he planned to construct two bombs in his motel room using gunpowder and shrapnel packed into pressure cookers and then detonate the explosives at a restaurant frequented by soldiers.</P><P>FBI Agent James E. Runkel said in an affidavit filed in federal court that police found Abdo carrying a backpack containing two clocks, wire, ammunition, a handgun and the "Make a bomb in the kitchen of your Mom" article. Such an article was featured in an issue of Inspire, an English-language magazine produced by al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula, a Yemen-based branch of the terror group.</P><P>The allegations and Abdo's defiance in court contrast with the words he used as he was petitioning for conscientious objector status. In an essay he sent to The Associated Press last year he said acts like the Fort Hood shootings "run counter to what I believe in as a Muslim."</P><P>He was born in Texas to a non-denominational Christian mother and a Muslim father. Jamal Abdo said they divorced in 1993.</P><P>Naser Abdo said he became a Muslim when he was 17. He said he enlisted thinking that Army service would not conflict with his religious beliefs, but reconsidered as he explored Islam further.</P><P>"I realized through further reflection that god did not give legitimacy to the war in Afghanistan, Iraq or any war the U.S. Army could conceivably participate in," he wrote in his conscientious objector application. <P>Abdo was approved as a conscientious objector this year, but that status was put on hold after he was charged in May with possessing child pornography. Abdo denied the charge before this week's arrest. <P>Abdo went AWOL during the July 4 weekend. FBI, police and military officials have said little about whether or how they were tracking Abdo since he left Fort Campbell. <P>Jamal Abdo disputed both the child pornography charges and the bomb plot allegations against his son, and said Naser was discriminated against in the Army because of his religion. <P>"Fellow soldiers slurred him and treated him badly. They mocked him as he prayed. They cursed him and used bad language against Islam and its prophet," he said. <P>"He reported these incidents, but nothing was done about it," the elder Abdo said. "Therefore he wanted to leave the Army. I always told him to be calm and to focus on his duty and he used to tell me, `Yes, Papa.'" <P>He said Naser never mentioned al-Qaida and that he last spoke to his son a week ago. <P>Abdo was arrested after a gun-store clerk told authorities he bought six pounds of smokeless gunpowder, shotgun ammunition and a magazine for a semi-automatic pistol on Tuesday — while seeming to know little about what he was buying. Killeen Police Chief Dennis Baldwin has suggested that without the tip, a terror attack could have been imminent. <P>Two veterans groups that supported Abdo in his bid to be a conscientious objector said they have not had direct contact with him recently. <P>"If any of these allegations are true, any sort of violence toward anyone goes completely against what a conscientious objector believes," said Jose Vasquez, executive director of Iraq Veterans Against the War. <P>Another group, Courage to Resist, said in a statement that it had removed Abdo's profile from its website. It said it has paid $800 of Abdo's legal fees in the conscientious objector case. <P>Vasquez provided a copy of a statement Abdo sent to his group last year that claimed soldiers often associated terror with Islam "during routine training exercises." <P>"Only when the military and America can disassociate Muslims from terror can we move onto a brighter future of religious collaboration and dialogue that defines America and makes me proud to be an American," Abdo wrote. <P>___ <P>Associated Press writers Jamal Halaby in Fuhais, Jordan; Kristin M. Hall in Nashville, Tenn.; Janet Cappiello in Louisville, Ky., contributed to this report.</P><br /><p><a href="http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/crime/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110730/ap_on_re_us/us_awol_soldier" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">View the original article here</a></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6139718042586950151.post-83102201852159533132011-07-31T19:01:00.000-07:002011-07-31T19:01:00.260-07:00Judge backs Lopez over home video row with ex
(AFP) <P>LOS ANGELES (AFP) – A US appeal court sided with superstar Jennifer Lopez in a privacy dispute with her ex-husband over the use of the former couple's home videos.</P><P>The singer and actress, who annnounced last week that she was splitting from actor husband Marc Anthony, is seeking $10 million from her ex, Ojani Noa, and writer Ed Meyer.</P><P>Lopez says the video footage, which is not of a sexual nature, contains private information about her and her relationship with Noa, whom she married in 1997 but divorced 11 months later.</P><P>The 42-year-old, who originally sued Noa and Meyer in November 2009, alleges that the pair plan to make a movie she says is to be called "How I Married Jennifer Lopez: The J. Lo and Ojani Noa Story."</P><P>Noa and Meyer deny they are planning a tell-all movie and say it would not have the title stated in the lawsuit.</P><P>On Friday, a three-justice panel of the 2nd District Court of Appeal, reversing a lower court's ruling, said Lopez can force Noa and Meyer to resolve the case by arbitration.</P><P>The lawsuit was the second Lopez filed against Noa after their divorce: in 2007 she won $545,000 and legal costs for breach of contract over a planned ghostwritten tell-all book.</P><P>The book, which was blocked from being published, reportedly recounted how Lopez had had multiple affairs, including with her current husband Marc Anthony whom she is now leaving after seven years of marriage.</P><br /><p><a href="http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/crime/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20110730/en_afp/entertainmentusmusiclopezcourt" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">View the original article here</a></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6139718042586950151.post-24542983155696999442011-07-31T17:40:00.000-07:002011-07-31T17:40:00.452-07:00Va. police: Family of 4, friend kidnapped, robbed
(AP) <P>HERNDON, Va. – Police are investigating a report that a family of four and a friend were kidnapped from the family's suburban Washington, D.C. apartment, robbed and left in a remote area.</P><P>Fairfax County police said a masked man on Thursday night entered a Herndon apartment through an unlocked door, implied he had a gun, and ordered a woman, her teenage son and a toddler into a back room. Police say the man tied up the teen, and then cut the family friend with a sharp object after he entered and didn't immediately comply with an order to get on the ground.</P><P>When the father entered, he too was assaulted, police said in a news release.</P><P>Authorities said the man then ordered everyone into the family sedan and demanded they drive to an ATM machine where he withdrew money. He ordered the father into the trunk and made the family friend drive to a secluded business park where all but the father were freed. Family members ran away and flagged down a passer-by who called police, and the father escaped from the trunk when he realized the man had fled.</P><P>"The family was terrified, and this appears to be random," Fairfax County police spokeswoman Lucy Caldwell told The Washington Post.</P><P>Police believe robbery was the motive and are searching for the suspect.</P><br /><p><a href="http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/crime/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110730/ap_on_re_us/us_family_kidnapped_northern_virginia" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">View the original article here</a></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6139718042586950151.post-69763793275259366002011-07-31T16:06:00.000-07:002011-07-31T16:06:00.458-07:00Iran may release detained U.S. hikers soon: lawyer
(Reuters) <P>TEHRAN (Reuters) – Iran may release U.S. citizens detained on charges of espionage, their lawyer Masoud Shafiee told Reuters on Saturday, a day before a scheduled court session for the two coinciding with the second anniversary of their detention.</P><P>Josh Fattal, Shane Bauer and Sarah Shourd were arrested by Iranian forces in July 2009 on suspicion of spying after crossing into Iran from Iraq. Shourd was freed on bail in September 2010 and returned to the United States.</P><P>Under Iran's Islamic law, espionage can be punished by execution.</P><P>"Tomorrow it will be two years since my clients were jailed ... I believe their already two years in detention will serve as their sentence," Shafiee said. "I hope it will be their last court session."</P><P>In November, Iran's judiciary announced espionage charges against the three. Their families said they were hiking and had strayed across the border accidentally. Washington says the charges are totally unfounded and they should be released.</P><P>The last hearing was scheduled for May 11 but was postponed without any explanation. Iranian authorities had previously called on Shourd to return to Tehran to stand trial alongside Fattal and Bauer.</P><P>Asked whether Shourd would appear at the session, Shafiee said the court had not demanded that she should attend. "It is one of the signs. In the previous warrants Shourd was asked to return to Iran for the trials ... but this time there is no such demand," he said.</P><P>Bauer and Fattal pleaded not guilty at a closed-door court hearing on February 6 but the lawyer said he had had no recent legal access to his clients.</P><P>"So far, no permission has been granted to my request for a private meeting with my clients," Shafiee said.</P><P>"Despite asking repeatedly, I have not met them since the last trial," he said. "I hope to have a meeting with them even a few hours before tomorrow's trial."</P><P>The United States cut diplomatic ties with Tehran after the Iranian revolution in 1979. The two countries are now embroiled in a row over Iran's nuclear program, which the West suspects is aimed at making bombs. Tehran denies this.</P><P>Some Iranian officials and newspapers had suggested that the</P><P>Americans may be swapped with jailed Iranians in the United States. But U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said there were no talks between the United States and Iran on a prisoner exchange.</P><P>Iran said in 2009 it believed 11 Iranians were being held in the United States.</P><P>(Writing by Ramin Mostafavi and Parisa Hafezi; Editing by David Stamp)</P><br /><p><a href="http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/crime/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20110730/ts_nm/us_iran_us_hikers" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">View the original article here</a></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6139718042586950151.post-60269467070017848182011-07-31T14:42:00.000-07:002011-07-31T14:42:00.381-07:00Andy Dick to stand trial on W.Va. sex abuse counts
(AP) By HARRY R. WEBER, Associated Press Harry R. Weber, Associated Press – <ABBR class=timedate title=2011-07-29T23:11:33-0700>Sat Jul 30, 2:11 am ET<P>HUNTINGTON, W.Va. – A West Virginia judge ordered actor-comedian Andy Dick on Friday to stand trial on felony sexual abuse charges stemming from a nightclub incident last year.</P><P>Cabell County Circuit Judge Paul Farrell set trial for Jan. 17 and ordered the entertainer to submit to a urine test. The judge said the test was standard to determine if defendants are positive for drugs, but he also told Dick, "I suspect you may be." Farrell told Dick he would be jailed if he returned to court for a pre-trial hearing in September under the influence of drugs or alcohol.</P><P>"I understand. I've been sober," the blond-haired, bespectacled actor, wearing a dark suit and black tie, told the judge.</P><P>Prosecutor Sean Hammers said he had no objection to Dick remaining free on bail.</P><P>Dick, 45, was not asked to enter a plea. He quickly left the courtroom after the brief hearing and got into an elevator with attorney Marc Williams without speaking to reporters, who peppered Dick with questions.</P><P>The comedian is accused of grabbing a bouncer's crotch and groping and kissing a male patron earlier at a Huntington bar in January 2010. He was in town for a performance at the Funny Bone Comedy Club.</P><P>Dick has been in trouble with the law several times before.</P><P>He's been arrested in California on drug and battery charges, to which he pleaded guilty in 2008, and on charges of being drunk and disorderly in a restaurant in May of this year. A Texas man sued Dick earlier this year, claiming the comedian exposed his genitals at a Dallas performance.</P><P>Dick had a long-running stint in the 1990s on NBC's "NewsRadio." He briefly had his own program, "The Andy Dick Show," on MTV. He also has had roles in several movies, including "Dude, Where's My Car?" and "Old School."</P><P>___</P><P>Follow Harry R. Weber at http://www.facebook.com/HarryRWeberAP</P><br /><p><a href="http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/crime/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110730/ap_on_re_us/us_people_andy_dick" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">View the original article here</a></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6139718042586950151.post-4779643826908172302011-07-31T12:54:00.000-07:002011-07-31T12:54:00.367-07:00Presidential historian appears in federal court
(AP) <P>BALTIMORE – A presidential historian charged with stealing historical documents and conspiring to take them from state archives in several states will remain in federal custody over the weekend, but a judge allowed his assistant to be released Friday.</P><P>At a hearing Monday, a judge will consider the prosecutors' recommendation that Barry Landau, 63, remain in custody. This will allow pretrial officials time to review his case and interview Landau, who appeared in the same blue-and-white-striped, button-down shirt and khakis that he wore to a bail review hearing in Baltimore Circuit Court earlier this week.</P><P>Federal prosecutor James G. Warwick said in court Friday that Landau poses a flight risk and might try to access documents that investigators haven't yet found and destroy evidence. Investigators believe that Landau has tried to tamper with witnesses, Warwick said, but he did not want to disclose details.</P><P>Prosecutors are looking at additional federal charges, including mail and wire fraud, interstate transportation of stolen goods and theft of government property, Warwick said.</P><P>U.S. Magistrate Judge Susan Gauvey approved an agreement Friday that allows Landau's assistant, Jason Savedoff, 24, be released to his mother on $250,000 cash bail. Savedoff, who appeared in a yellow jumpsuit from the Baltimore jail with a slight beard, has surrendered his American and Canadian passports and will stay at an apartment in the Baltimore area.</P><P>The men were arrested July 9 after a Maryland Historical Society employee reported Savedoff took a document out of the society's Baltimore library. When police arrived, investigators found 60 documents inside a library locker Savedoff was using, including papers signed by President Abraham Lincoln worth $300,000 and presidential inaugural ball invitations and programs worth $500,000, Baltimore prosecutors have said.</P><P>Landau had signed out many of those documents, according to court documents.</P><P>The two men were indicted by a federal grand jury Thursday, accused of stealing and selling historical documents that included a Benjamin Franklin letter and speeches by President Franklin D. Roosevelt. They also face state theft charges.</P><P>The federal indictment charges the pair with stealing an April 1780 letter from Franklin to John Paul Jones from the New-York Historical Society in March. They are also charged with taking a set of signed inaugural addresses from the FDR presidential library in December and later selling them for $35,000.</P><P>U.S. Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein has said a nationwide investigation is continuing and encouraged anyone with information about the acquisition or sale of historical items by the two to contact the FBI. Special Agent in Charge Richard A. McFeely called "the scope and notoriety" of the documents seized in this case "truly breathtaking."</P><P>Before his arrest, Landau appeared on TV programs and was quoted in news articles, particularly for his knowledge of White House social events and drew upon his extensive collection of souvenirs to write a coffee-table book, "The President's Table: Two Hundred Years of Dining and Diplomacy."</P><P>The investigation included a search of the author's museum-like, New York City apartment that's lined with mementos dating back to Washington's presidency, the FBI said. Black-and-white etchings of 19th-century inaugurations hang from the walls, while a cabinet displays presidential goblets, plates and a skeleton key that purportedly fit the front door of the White House during John Adams' administration, according to a 2007 Associated Press article.</P><P>In the wake of the arrests, institutions across the country are reviewing their vulnerabilities. They often have limited money and must balance security measures against giving access to the public.</P><br /><p><a href="http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/crime/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110730/ap_on_re_us/us_presidential_artifacts_theft" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">View the original article here</a></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6139718042586950151.post-1691197439626767872011-07-31T11:35:00.000-07:002011-07-31T11:35:00.327-07:00Jeffs threatens court with Biblical repercussions
(AP) <P>SAN ANGELO, Texas – A polygamist sect leader defending himself against sexual assault charges broke his silence Friday with a 55-minute sermon defending plural marriages as divine and later said God would visit "sickness and death" on those involved if his trial wasn't immediately stopped.</P><P>Warren Jeffs, 55, could face life in prison if he's convicted of sexually assaulting two underage girls. He has been representing himself since he fired his high-powered lawyers Thursday, but he made no opening statement and spent hours sitting alone at the defense table staring into space in silence while prosecutors made their case.</P><P>On Friday, however, the ecclesiastical head of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints suddenly cried "I object!" as FBI agent John Broadway testified about seizing eight desktop computers and 120 boxes and large folders of documents from the church's remote compound in West Texas in 2008.</P><P>"There is sacred trust given to religious leadership not to be touched by government agencies," said Jeffs, who leads an offshoot of mainstream Mormonism that believes polygamy brings exaltation in heaven. The sect's 10,000 members see Jeffs as a prophet who speaks for God on Earth.</P><P>Jeffs then launched into a lengthy defense of polygamy, but Walther eventually overruled his objection. She said court rules prohibited him from testifying while objecting but she let him go on at length because he hadn't offered an opening statement.</P><P>Jeffs then said he had no choice but to read a statement from God. Walther dismissed the jury and allowed him to read it.</P><P>"I, the Lord God of heaven," Jeffs read, "call upon the court to cease this open prosecution against my pure, holy way."</P><P>If the trial continues, the statement said, "I will send a scourge upon the counties of prosecutorial zeal to make humbled by sickness and death."</P><P>Jeffs has frequently said the charges against him are the work of over-zealous prosecutors.</P><P>Walther responded to the statement by telling Jeffs he could not threaten the jury.</P><P>"If you call for their destruction," she said, "or in any way say that they will be injured or damaged because of their service, you will be removed from the courtroom."</P><P>During afternoon testimony from Broadway and other witnesses who detailed documents seized from the FLDS compound, Jeffs objected so much that Walther eventually had a bailiff remove his microphones.</P><P>It was a sharp contrast to his earlier silence and halting speech. When answering questions from Walther earlier in the week, Jeffs usually paused for a full minute or two and then spoke in slow, deliberate tones interrupted by long, awkward pauses. But his words flowed freely Friday.</P><P>Jeffs, who is schedule for trial on bigamy charges in October, said his church has practiced polygamy for five generations and believes it is the will of God, who is a higher power than courts, state legislatures and the U.S. Congress.</P><P>"We are not a fly-by-night religious society . . . We are a community of faith and principles and those principles are so sacred. They belong to God, not to man and the governments of man," Jeffs said. He also noted that polygamy "is not of a sudden happening, it is of a tradition in our lives. And how can we just throw it away and say `God has not spoken?'"</P><P>Jeffs said FLDS members believe adhering to God's will, as stated by prophets like himself, is the only way to achieve eternal life in "Zion," or heaven.</P><P>"We do not seek your salvation," Jeffs told Walther and jurors, who watched and listened intently but made no visible reaction to his words. The judge turned down his repeated pleas for a separate hearing on freedom of religion.</P><P>Jeffs said Texas authorities had unfairly persecuted the FLDS just because its members are different from those of mainstream religions. Women in the sect wear prairie-style dresses and keep their hair tied up in tight buns that conjure images of frontier times. <P>"We are derided for how we dress, how we go about our laborers in a common society," he said. "The government of the United States had no right to infringe on the religious freedom of a peaceful people." <P>Jeffs said the courts and society are "not understanding our religious faith, yet judging it." <P>At the end of his speech, lead prosecutor Eric Nichols rose and said the Supreme Court ruled in the 1890s that religious freedom does not extend to polygamy. <P>The FLDS made headlines nationwide in 2008, when authorities raided its compound in tiny Eldorado, about 45 miles from San Angelo, after hearing allegations that young girls were being forced into polygamist marriages. More than 400 children were seized temporarily but eventually returned to their families. <P>Still, Jeffs and 11 other FLDS men were charged with crimes including sexual assault and bigamy. <P>All seven sect members prosecuted so far have been convicted and given prison terms of between six and 75 years.</P><br /><p><a href="http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/crime/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110729/ap_on_re_us/us_polygamist_leader" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">View the original article here</a></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6139718042586950151.post-43990876339127519882011-07-31T10:04:00.000-07:002011-07-31T10:04:00.937-07:00Analysis: Former prosecutors weigh in on Strauss-Kahn case
(Reuters) <P>NEW YORK (Reuters) – Even by the standards of a salacious and unpredictable international scandal, it was a whirlwind week in the Dominique Strauss-Kahn sexual assault case.</P><P>On Sunday, Strauss-Kahn's accuser, Nafissatou Diallo, 32, broke her silence and anonymity, telling the world in televised and print interviews her version of the incident with the former International Monetary Fund chief. Diallo, a hotel maid, alleges Strauss-Kahn forced her to perform oral sex on him and attempted to rape her at an upscale Manhattan hotel on May 14.</P><P>Strauss-Kahn, 62, who had been seen as a possible French president, has denied any wrongdoing.</P><P>On Tuesday, prosecutors requested and received a second postponement of the next court date in the case, originally scheduled for July 16. It is now scheduled for August 23.</P><P>On Wednesday, Diallo met with prosecutors behind closed doors for more than eight hours.</P><P>The next day, a tearful Diallo appeared before a sea of cameras in a Brooklyn church, as her attorney accused prosecutors of abandoning her.</P><P>Yet through all the dizzying developments, the case remains in limbo. Despite speculation the prosecution would collapse after significant doubts arose regarding Diallo's credibility, a spokesperson for Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr. insisted the office was still investigating.</P><P>Interviews with eight former Manhattan prosecutors found agreement the case was an uphill climb, but no clear consensus on whether Vance should -- or would -- continue to prosecute Strauss-Kahn.</P><P>"Every juror has to be convinced beyond a reasonable doubt that she's telling the truth," said Bennett Gershman, a former Manhattan prosecutor and a law professor at Pace University. "The burden is enormous on the prosecutor. Do they want to go ahead with a case that seems so difficult?"</P><P>'TREASURE TROVE' FOR DEFENSE</P><P>Several former prosecutors said the decision to allow Diallo to speak publicly about the incident could create inconsistencies the defense would try to exploit at trial. Her credibility is already under siege after prosecutors said she lied about her past and about the immediate aftermath of the alleged attack.</P><P>"You're creating a treasure trove of material for the defense to dig into," said Jeremy Saland, a defense lawyer who worked as a prosecutor under Vance's predecessor, Robert Morgenthau.</P><P>Others have suggested that the media appearances show that Diallo's attorney, Kenneth Thompson, no longer believes the criminal case will hold up. Thompson argued on Thursday that she was forced to come forward to counter "lies" about her, including a report in the New York Post claiming she worked as a prostitute. Diallo has sued the Post for libel over that report.</P><P>The publicity could also backfire if it appears to be an effort to extract money from Strauss-Kahn to settle a potential civil lawsuit. Thompson has said she will file a civil claim soon.</P><P>Thompson's comments seemed to reflect his own uncertainty over whether the criminal case will proceed.</P><P>On Wednesday, following Diallo's meeting with prosecutors, Thompson said the discussion "went well." When questioned on Thursday about that assessment, he appeared to backtrack.</P><P>"You know, yesterday when I said it went well, I think that you read too much into that," he said in response to a reporter's question. "It was a meeting, I got out of it, I came outside. I don't know what the district attorney will do."</P><P>'PRETTY IMPRESSIVE SHOW' <P>But some observers say the media blitz could succeed in bringing pressure to bear on Vance's office. <P>"My sense is that they want to be done with it and they want to dismiss it," said one former city prosecutor who did not want to be named. "But, having said that, the victim has put on a pretty impressive show this past week." <P>John Moscow, the former deputy chief of the district attorney's investigations division, said the physical evidence was strongly suggestive of a forced encounter. That could be enough to overcome doubts about her credibility, Moscow said. <P>"Here's how I look at it: if she were run over by a car, would you still have a case?" he said. "Yes, you would. I just don't see any reason at all not to go forward." <P>Matthew Galluzzo, a former Manhattan sex-crimes prosecutor, said Diallo's story about being gang-raped in her home country of Guinea, which she later admitted was inaccurate, could be devastating to the case. <P>But Daniel Bibb, another former prosecutor, said jurors could forgive her, since she apparently told it to gain political asylum and entry into the United States. <P>"In the average rape case, I would say that discovery of a prior false allegation of rape is fatal to the prosecution," he said. "In this case, I'm not so sure, simply because her motives in claiming rape were not malicious." <P>Even if Vance goes ahead with the prosecution, former prosecutors say a conviction of Strauss-Kahn will be hard to secure. <P>"If what I've read and seen is accurate, it appears to me that this case will ultimately be dismissed," Saland said. <P>But like most of the prosecutors interviewed, Bibb warned it was impossible to assess from the outside whether the case will continue. <P>"I don't know what the right decision is," he said. "I don't have all the facts." <P>(Reporting by Joseph Ax and Noeleen Walder; Editing by Jesse Wegman and Peter Cooney)</P><br /><p><a href="http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/crime/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20110730/ts_nm/us_strausskahn_week" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">View the original article here</a></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6139718042586950151.post-63385051771995977342011-07-31T08:18:00.000-07:002011-07-31T08:18:00.365-07:00Lawyer: 2 Americans held in Iran could be released
(AP) <P>TEHRAN, Iran – The lawyer for two Americans jailed in Iran on charges of espionage says his clients could be released after a court hearing slated for Sunday.</P><P>Masoud Shafiei said Saturday the fact that the session in the trial of Shane Bauer and Josh Fattal would coincide with the second anniversary of their arrest may indicate that they will be freed.</P><P>There also is a tradition in the Muslim world of pardoning prisoners for the holy month of Ramadan, which starts early next week.</P><P>Bauer and Fattal have been jailed since July 2009. Bauer's fiance, Sarah Shourd, was arrested with them but released last year on $500,000 bail.</P><P>The Americans deny the charges and say they were only hiking in a scenic area of northern Iraq near the Iranian border.</P><br /><p><a href="http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/crime/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110730/ap_on_re_us/iran_us_hikers" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">View the original article here</a></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6139718042586950151.post-27312841647560645492011-07-31T07:04:00.000-07:002011-07-31T07:04:00.262-07:00Comic Andy Dick pleads not guilty to sex abuse charges
(Reuters) <P>CHARLESTON, West Virginia (Reuters) – Comedian Andy Dick pleaded not guilty on Friday to charges he sexually abused a security guard and another man at a West Virginia bar by grabbing their crotches.</P><P>The case marks the latest in a long string of legal entanglements for Dick, who was a regular cast member on the 1990s television comedy "NewsRadio" but has since struggled with substance abuse problems.</P><P>Dick pleaded not guilty to two counts of sexual abuse before Cabell County Circuit Judge Paul Ferrell in Huntington, West Virginia, according to the local prosecutor's office.</P><P>He is accused of groping the two men at the Huntington bar in January 2010. The charge of sexual abuse carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison.</P><P>In 2008 Dick pleaded guilty to misdemeanor charges of battery and possession of marijuana stemming from an incident in which police said he pulled down the top of a 17-year-old girl in Southern California.</P><P>Dick, who sports curly blond hair and rectangular glasses, has had several other brushes with the law in recent years. He made a guest appearance earlier this year on the NBC comedy "Community."</P><P>(Reporting by Steven Adams, Writing by Alex Dobuzinskis: Editing by Steve Gorman)</P><br /><p><a href="http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/crime/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20110730/en_nm/us_andydick" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">View the original article here</a></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6139718042586950151.post-67670591857613519242011-07-31T05:23:00.000-07:002011-07-31T05:23:00.243-07:00Defendants rest case in Alabama corruption trial
(AP) <P>MONTGOMERY, Ala. – The nine defendants in a corruption trial involving Alabama gambling legislation are resting their case after calling just one defense witness.</P><P>The defendants include current and former legislators, lobbyists and casino owners. They are accused in a scheme to buy and sell votes on a bill to legalize electronic bingo in Alabama.</P><P>Prosecutors based much of their case on wiretaps of telephone conversations. Three legislators who wore wires testified they felt they were being offered money to vote for the bill, but defense attorneys say they did not hear any talk of bribes being offered to legislators.</P><P>The judge will hear arguments Monday from defense attorneys who want the charges dismissed. Closing arguments are expected Wednesday.</P><br /><p><a href="http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/crime/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110729/ap_on_re_us/us_alabama_gambling_trial" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">View the original article here</a></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6139718042586950151.post-35507745798626961472011-07-31T04:16:00.000-07:002011-07-31T04:17:25.090-07:00400 attend roller rink shooting victims' funeral
(AP) <P>BARLING, Ark. – Four siblings killed in a shooting rampage at a Texas roller rink were remembered Saturday as a part of a tight-knit family, even as the hundreds gathered in an Arkansas church to mourn them tried to make sense of the tragedy.</P><P>More than 400 people attended a service for Trini Do, 29, her sisters, Lynn Ta, 16, and Michelle Ta, 28, and her brother, Hien Ta, 21. Trini Do's estranged husband, Tan Do, 35, shot her and her siblings during a birthday party for their 11-year-old son and then killed himself.</P><P>Police in Grand Prairie, Texas, have said they believe the shooting was planned and followed years of domestic violence. Trini Do received a protective order in December against her husband, but she had it withdrawn earlier this year against a prosecutor's advice and wanted to give him another chance, an aunt has said.</P><P>The fifth victim in the shooting rampage, Thuy Nguyen, 25, was Trini Do's sister-in-law. She will be buried in Vietnam.</P><P>Four others were wounded in the rampage, but police said their injuries were not life-threatening.</P><P>The siblings' deaths have shaken the immigrant community in western Arkansas, where more than 1,300 Vietnamese live in the Fort Smith area. Trini Do and her siblings moved to Fort Smith from Vietnam in 1994.</P><P>Their friends and relatives gathered Saturday in the Sacred Heart of Mary Church in nearby Barling. A choir performed a hymn in Vietnamese entitled "Coming Home" as the caskets were escorted into the auditorium. Children carried framed photos of the dead, and a procession of relatives followed. Many youth tied white strips of cloth around their foreheads as a sign of respect.</P><P>The Rev. Peter Quang Le, in a homily delivered primarily in Vietnamese, described how many were still in disbelief after the shootings, even after seeing the bodies of the dead.</P><P>"We cannot understand it," he said.</P><P>Le asked the audience not to be angry or seek revenge, but to pray for the victims and their family.</P><P>"The psychological wounds because of violence in the minds of (the Ta) family will endure all their lives," he said.</P><P>Everyone in the auditorium stood, raised their right hand and turned toward Le as he touched the chest of Hoi Ta, the siblings' father, and prayed. Ta stood in silence, his arms crossed and his shirt sleeves rolled.</P><P>When the caskets were opened at the end of the service, Hoi Ta led a long line of mourners to the bodies. He leaned into the faces of his children and whispered a few quiet words to each.</P><P>Trini Do's aunt, Janice Tran, and other relatives remembered her as a good-natured person who worked two jobs and loved to travel.</P><P>"When you talked to her, you know what kind of person (she was)," Tran said.</P><P>Relatives remembered Lynn Ta, who attended a Fort Smith high school, for her smile and passion for taking photos with her friends. Michelle Ta loved to shop and cook, they said. Hien Ta was an avid swimmer and basketball player.</P><P>The siblings were among about 30 friends and family who attended the private party at the rented roller rink. A DJ at the rink told The Associated Press that guests had just finished singing "Happy Birthday" to the couple's son when Tan Do spoke to him briefly, then pulled out a gun and shot Trini Do and her relatives.</P><P>One of Trini Do's four surviving siblings was wounded in the rampage and remains hospitalized, Tran said. Trini and Tran Do's son and his 3-year-old sister were not injured in the shootings and have been in the care of other relatives. Tran said they were at the funeral.</P><br /><p><a href="http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/crime/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110730/ap_on_re_us/us_roller_rink_shootings" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">View the original article here</a></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6139718042586950151.post-27682358728226835832011-07-25T02:24:00.000-07:002011-07-25T02:24:00.507-07:00Ex-Akamai worker to plead guilty to spy charge
(AP) <P>BOSTON – A former employee of a website content delivery company has agreed to plead guilty to a charge of foreign economic espionage for providing company trade secrets to an undercover FBI agent posing as an Israeli intelligence officer, federal prosecutors announced Thursday.</P><P>Elliot Doxer, 42, will admit to providing trade secrets from Cambridge-based Akamai Technologies Inc. over an 18-month period to the agent, whom he believed was an Israeli spy, the U.S. Attorney's Office for Massachusetts said in a statement. A plea hearing is scheduled for Aug. 29.</P><P>Doxer's attorney, Thomas J. Butters, did not return messages left after business hours Thursday.</P><P>Doxer, of Brookline, worked in Akamai's finance department at the time he committed the alleged offenses. Prosecutors said he sent an email to the Israeli consulate in June 2006 and offered to provide any information he had access to in order to help that country in exchange for $3,000.</P><P>Doxer said his main goal was "to help our homeland and our war against our enemies," prosecutors said.</P><P>Israeli officials contacted U.S. authorities about the offer. An FBI agent went undercover and posed as an Israeli agent in September 2007, and arranged to use a "dead drop" location to exchange information with Doxer to avoid detection. From then until March 2009, Doxer visited the drop location at least 62 times and provided an extensive list of Akamai's customers and employees, including their full contact information, and contract details, according to prosecutors.</P><P>He also allegedly described Akamai's physical and computer security systems and said he could travel to Israel and support special operations in his local area if needed.</P><P>Akamai previously said that it had cooperated with the FBI. The firm also noted that there is no evidence that Doxer actually gave information to a foreign government.</P><P>Authorities arrested Doxer in August and charged him with one count of wire fraud. That charge will be dismissed as part of the plea agreement.</P><P>The espionage charge carries a maximum penalty of 15 years in prison, a three-year term of supervised release and a $500,000 fine.</P><br /><p><a href="http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/crime/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110722/ap_on_re_us/us_akamai_spy_arrest" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">View the original article here</a></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6139718042586950151.post-31074205673916036622011-07-25T00:52:00.000-07:002011-07-25T00:52:00.222-07:00Anthony attorney denies interview negotiations
(AP) <P>ORLANDO, Fla. – The lead defense attorney in the murder trial of Casey Anthony denies reports that he is negotiating deals for a paid interview with his client.</P><P>A one-sentence statement attributed to Jose Baez and released through New York-based RMT PR Management on Friday says: "Contrary to recent published reports, I am not negotiating any paid interviews with anyone."</P><P>Reports of interview negotiations have been rampant since Anthony's release from jail on July 13. She was acquitted of murdering her 2-year-old daughter, Caylee, on July 5, but convicted of four counts of lying to police.</P><P>Anthony left the Orange County Jail with Baez and has not been seen in public since.</P><P>At least one television producer claims to have met with Baez about a paid interview.</P><br /><p><a href="http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/crime/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110722/ap_on_re_us/us_casey_anthony_interview" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">View the original article here</a></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6139718042586950151.post-15169085423857150252011-07-24T23:30:00.000-07:002011-07-24T23:30:00.725-07:00Judge nixes Winklevoss twin's Facebook lawsuit
(AFP) <P>SAN FRANCISCO (AFP) – A US judge on Friday blocked the latest courtroom campaign by Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss to undo a deal they made to settle a squabble over who came up with the idea for Facebook.</P><P>US District Judge Douglas Woodlock in Boston granted a request by Facebook that the case there be dismissed. The judge's terse written order did not outline the reasoning behind his decision.</P><P>The twin brothers and fellow ConnectU founder Divya Narendra last month ramped up litigation in Massachusetts accusing Facebook of duping them in a deal they made in a lawsuit charging that Mark Zuckerberg stole their idea.</P><P>Lawyers for the Winklevosses tried to renew the languishing civil case in Boston after similarly-themed litigation failed in California and they opted not to appeal it to the Supreme Court.</P><P>"These are old and baseless allegations that have been considered and rejected previously by the courts," Facebook attorney Neel Chatterjee said when the litigation in Boston was revived.</P><P>The Winklevoss lawyers were expected to ask that the Boston case be reopened on the basis of a rule allowing that to happen if key information has been withheld.</P><P>The twins have argued that Facebook held back information about the California-based social networking firm while reaching a $65 million settlement with the brothers.</P><P>The twins inked a settlement two years ago that got them $20 million in cash and $45 million worth of stock valued at $36 per share.</P><P>The value of that yet-to-be-issued stock has skyrocketed along with Facebook's estimated market value.</P><P>The US 9th Circuit Court of Appeals in May rejected a bid by the identical twin brothers to have a full panel of 11 judges second guess a ruling made by a three-justice panel.</P><P>The three-judge panel said that litigation in the case "must come to an end" and threw out the bid by the Winklevosses to review the settlement.</P><br /><p><a href="http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/crime/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20110722/ts_alt_afp/usitcompanyjusticeinternetfacebookconnectu" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">View the original article here</a></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6139718042586950151.post-48265063671252383752011-07-24T21:33:00.000-07:002011-07-24T21:33:00.099-07:00Fugitive businessman Lai deported to China
(AFP) <P>BEIJING (AFP) – Fugitive Chinese businessman Lai Changxing arrived back in Beijing on Saturday after being deported from Canada, ending a 12-year legal and diplomatic tug-of-war that tested the countries' relations.</P><P>Lai landed in the Chinese capital aboard a civilian flight in the custody of Canadian police and was handed over to authorities who arrested him, state television said, quoting a Ministry of Public Security statement.</P><P>China's Xinhua news agency had reported earlier that Lai had been flown from the Canadian west coast city of Vancouver.</P><P>Canadian authorities moved swiftly to return Lai after a federal court on Thursday ruled he should be deported -- a move blocked for years by Canada's courts and refugee board out of fear he could be executed or tortured.</P><P>Canada, which does not have capital punishment, bans the return of prisoners to countries where they might be put to death.</P><P>But China has issued an unusual promise not to execute Lai -- believed to be 52 -- if he is tried and found guilty.</P><P>Lai's repatriation marks a victory for Beijing, which had tried for more than a decade to secure his return -- and the removal of a diplomatic headache for Ottawa.</P><P>Lai is accused of running a smuggling ring in southeastern China's Fujian province that moved contraband variously estimated to be worth between $6 billion and $10 billion.</P><P>China's state-run media said it could prove to be the largest case of economic crime in the country since the Communists took over in 1949.</P><P>Lai fled to Canada with his family in 1999 after the case emerged, rocking Fujian's political establishment and leading to the dismissal or arrest of a number of officials there implicated in alleged wrongdoing.</P><P>Lai sought asylum in Canada, where he arrived on a tourist visa with his then wife, two sons and a daughter, saying the Chinese accusations against him were politically motivated.</P><P>The businessman's lawyers have argued that several of his associates have died or vanished in China's justice system.</P><P>But he has been called a "common criminal" by politicians and judges in Canada.</P><P>The Chinese foreign ministry said in a statement on Friday that it "welcomed" the court move to authorise his deportation, calling Lai the "primary criminal suspect" in the case.</P><P>The statement also said Beijing "has held a very clear position on repatriating Lai to be tried according to the law".</P><P>Lai will now likely face a trial in China and a lengthy prison sentence if convicted. Xinhua quoted Chinese legal experts saying he would not face execution.</P><br /><p><a href="http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/crime/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20110723/ts_afp/chinacanadacrimecourt" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">View the original article here</a></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6139718042586950151.post-50963056272470852372011-07-24T20:30:00.000-07:002011-07-24T20:30:00.570-07:00Jury finds Anthony Sowell guilty of 11 murders
(Reuters) <P>CLEVELAND (Reuters) – A Cleveland jury on Friday found ex-Marine and convicted rapist Anthony Sowell guilty of the serial killing of 11 women whose decomposed remains were found in and around his home.</P><P>Sowell, 51, faces the possibility of the death penalty.</P><P>Many of the victims had histories of drug problems or were transients, and their disappearances were not always immediately reported to police. Sowell, who had a previous conviction for raping a pregnant woman, had claimed that bad smells in the area came from a nearby sausage factory.</P><P>Police discovered the first two bodies in 2009 after executing a search warrant for Sowell's arrest in response to an assault and rape charge.</P><P>In total, more women's bodies were found in and around Sowell's Cleveland house.</P><P>Two were found on the third floor, partially covered; one was in a plastic bag in pieces; another was covered with dirt in a crawl space. Two bodies were found in the basement -- one covered in dirt under the stairs, and one skull wrapped in plastic in a red bucket.</P><P>Five bodies were found in the backyard, all wrapped in plastic in shallow graves.</P><P>Sowell came to live in the Imperial Avenue house with his stepmother after serving 15 years in prison for rape. A balding man with glasses of medium height, he was described by neighbors as helpful, and a snappy dresser.</P><P>The first of the 11 homicides occurred in the house in 2007. The house had tenants who moved out after complaining about the smell.</P><P>Sowell was arrested shortly after one surviving victim jumped naked out of a window after being raped. At first, she claimed she had been in a car accident, but later told police she was attacked after seeing the bodies recovered from his house.</P><P>After police took Sowell in for questioning, he was told about six bodies found at his house and one in the backyard. Sowell responded, "Oh, those," using the plural when only one body had been found in the backyard at the time, according to police testimony.</P><P>In a videotaped interrogation by police, Sowell talked about meeting women and bringing them to his house. But he never gives any details about what happened to them or how their remains came to be in his house. "Maybe all I did was strangle ... that's what I did," he says.</P><P>Most of the victims were strangled. Some victims were so badly decomposed that the cause of death could not be determined.</P><P>The jury found Sowell guilty on 82 of 83 counts -- the not guilty on a single charge of stealing $11 from a surviving assault victim.</P><P>A fierce thunderstorm raged outside the courtroom windows as the verdicts were read. Some family members of victims wept, while others nodded their heads in agreement with the guilty counts.</P><P>Sowell blinked rapidly but otherwise showed no emotion as the verdicts were read.</P><P>After he was told of his right to appeal, he refused to look at Judge Dick Ambrose, and yawned. As he left the courtroom, he put his fists up in the air.</P><P>In closing arguments, the prosecution called Sowell a "vile and disgusting" serial killer. The 62 prosecution witnesses included women who said they had fled Sowell's house after being attacked. <P>One prosecution witness was Cleveland Mayor Frank Jackson's niece, Lori Frazier, an ex-girlfriend of Sowell, who said he suffered a series of suspicious injuries. Once she saw a deep gash across his head and blood on the floor and walls that he said were the result of a struggle with an intruder. <P>Family members of some victims have filed suit against the city, complaining about the police's handling of the case. The father of one of the victims said his concerns were dismissed by police because of his daughter's history of drug use. <P>The defense called no witnesses, but criticized the state's handling of the crime scene investigation and some of the women who testified against Sowell. <P>The murder victims are Diane Turner, Telacia Fortson, Janice Webb, Nancy Cobbs, Tonia Carmichael, Tishana Culver, Leshanda Long, Amelda Hunter, Michelle Mason, Crystal Dozier and Kim Smith. <P>Jurors deliberated for about 15 hours before reaching a verdict. On August 1 begins the mitigation phase of the trial, when the jury must determine whether Sowell should be expected. <P>(Writing by Mary Wisniewski; Reporting by Kim Palmer; Editing by Greg McCune)</P><br /><p><a href="http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/crime/*http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20110722/us_nm/us_crime_sowell" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">View the original article here</a></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0