Tattoo parlor owner linked with Ohio State scandal pleads guilty (Reuters)

COLUMBUS (Reuters) – A tattoo parlor owner whose arrest on marijuana trafficking charges helped lead to the downfall of a top U.S. college football coach pleaded guilty on Tuesday in a federal court in Columbus, attorneys said.

During a search of the suburban Columbus home of the defendant, Edward Rife, local and federal agents discovered Ohio State University football memorabilia. While that memorabilia did not involve the drug charges, it did lead to an NCAA investigation.

Five players on OSU Coach Jim Tressel's 2010 team traded memorabilia, including championship rings and uniforms, for cash in violation of strict rules governing college sports.

Tressel, who was informed of the violations months before the case became publicly known and did not tell university officials, was given a five-game suspension, to match the punishment of the players. He quit last month.

Tuesday, Rife pleaded guilty to a count of conspiracy to distribute and to possess with intent to distribute more than 200 pounds of marijuana, as part of a plea bargain.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Kevin Kelley said there was no evidence any Ohio State players were involved in the marijuana operation. Rife's attorney, Stephen Palmer, said the memorabilia was the only link between Rife and OSU.

(Reporting by Jim Leckrone; Editing by Mary Wisniewski and Jerry Norton)

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4 enter pleas in Oklahoma tattoo assault case (AP)

OKLAHOMA CITY – Four people charged with kidnapping a man, tattooing "RAPEST" on his forehead and shocking his genitals with a stun gun before beating him unconscious with a baseball bat pleaded guilty Tuesday to kidnapping and maiming charges.

Three of the defendants also pleaded guilty to assault and battery with a dangerous weapon in a plea agreement with prosecutors while the fourth pleaded no contest to the charge during a hearing in Oklahoma County District Court. A no contest plea has the same effect as a guilty plea but is not an admission of guilt.

Richard Dellert, Zachary Provence, Kimberly Kirchler Vergara and Lorena Hodges were accused of attacking 18-year-old Stetson Johnson on April 17. Del City police have said they were punishing Johnson after one of the women accused him of trying to have sex with her.

Johnson denied the allegation, saying he is acquainted with all four suspects but has never tried to hurt any of them. Investigators have said there was no evidence to support the others' claim.

Special Judge Stephen Alcorn sentenced Dellert, 25, and Provence, 21, to a total of 10 years in prison followed by 10 years of probation. Vergara, 24, who clutched a Bible during the hearing, and Hodges, 33, were each sentenced to five years in prison and five years of probation in the attack a prosecutor characterized as "a brutal case of bullying."

"I think a mob mentality took over," First Assistant District Attorney Scott Rowland said.

Johnson told authorities he was restrained with duct tape while "RAPEST," apparently a misspelling of "rapist," was tattooed across his forehead and a phrase that resembles "I like little boys" was tattooed on his chest. The forehead tattoo has since been covered with another tattoo that looks like a bar code, and members of his family said he is working to have it removed.

Johnson said the attack began when he was thrown to the ground and kicked in the face "dozens of times" by two men while two women took turns using a stun gun on his genitals. He said the attackers yelled obscenities at him and later put him in a car and transported him to Eagle Lake in Del City, where he was beaten in the arms and head with a baseball bat and left unconscious.

Johnson said when he awoke, he walked to a nearby mobile home park where a resident called police.

He spent a week in the hospital, including three days in the intensive care unit, for treatment of a fractured skull, broken nose and other wounds sustained in the beating.

"There was a time when we thought his life was in danger because of his injuries," Rowland said, adding that Johnson and his family agreed with the sentences. Rowland called the punishments "a fair and just result."

Each of the defendants faced up to 20 years in prison for kidnapping, 10 years on the assault and battery charge and seven years for maiming.

All four have been held in the Oklahoma County Jail since shortly after the attack. Provence also pleaded guilty to burglary and concealing stolen property charges in connection with a December 2010 car burglary and was sentenced concurrently with the other charges.

Contacted after the hearing, Johnson's mother, Lucy Ford, said the sentences were fair and noted that pursuing lengthier prison terms would have required her son to testify against the defendants in court.

"That is something he did not want to do," she said.

Neither Johnson nor other members of his family attended Tuesday's hearing. Ford said her son has recovered from his injuries and is working with a private clinic to have the tattoo removed from his forehead free of charge.

Rowland said the men received lengthier sentences than the women because they were more culpable.

During the court hearing, Provence admitted to beating Johnson while Dellert, who entered the no contest plea to the assault and battery charge, admitted to tattooing him.

Dellert, who had a large tattoo on his left wrist, gave reporters a thumbs-up sign as he was led into the courtroom in handcuffs and leg shackles prior to the hearing.

Observers in the courtroom said they later saw him extend his middle finger toward members of the media before the hearing began. Alcorn told Dellert he would have sentenced him to an additional six months in prison if he had witnessed the obscene gesture.

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Tattoo artist says Casey Anthony seemed normal, happy (Reuters)

ORLANDO, Fla (Reuters) – An Orlando tattoo artist who said he has known accused child killer Casey Anthony for seven years testified on Tuesday that she made an appointment for a tattoo on July 15, 2008 -- the same day her 2-year-old daughter Caylee was reported missing.

Casey, 25, is standing trial in Florida on a first-degree murder charge stemming from her daughter's June 16, 2008 death. The trial, which has drawn widespread TV coverage and national attention, is in its fourth week.

Caylee was reported missing after her grandmother found Casey's car, reeking of the odor of death, in an impound lot. The child's remains were found in woods a 10-minute walk from the Anthony family's home on December 11, 2008 after a nationwide search.

Bobby Williams, an artist at Cast Iron Tattoos, said Casey had come into his shop to get a tattoo earlier in July, and he applied a flowing script saying "Bella Vita" (beautiful life) to her back at the shoulder blade.

"She seemed normal," Williams testified. "She didn't seem upset about anything, she seemed happy for the most part."

Williams said Casey talked on the phone, ordered a pizza that she shared with him, and paid $65 in cash for the tattoo.

The next time Williams saw Casey was on July 15. She came to the shop to set up another appointment for her and a friend to get tattoos on July 19, he said. Again, she seemed normal and happy.

Williams said he was aware Casey had a daughter and testified that she said Caylee was with a nanny when he saw her on July 15. He said Casey told him the toddler would be with her on the 19th when she came in for her next appointment.

EXPERTS DISCUSS HAIR AND STICKERS

Earlier Tuesday, an FBI expert on forensic mitochondrial DNA testified that a single strand of hair from Casey's car trunk had the same profile as a buccal, or mouth, smear from the defendant.

An additional sample of hair tested later also matched the profile, expert Catherine Theisen said.

Theisen said the test can only tell that the hair or smear came from an individual or that individual's mother or someone who shared the mother's genetics. Thus the hair from the trunk could have belonged to Casey, Caylee or Casey's mother, brother or another maternal relative.

Alina Burroughs, a crime scene investigator, described collecting evidence at the house Casey and Caylee shared with Casey's parents, Cindy and George Anthony.

Jurors saw photos of a quarter-sized heart sticker with a red glittery border sitting on an envelope and a sheet of smaller pink and purple heart-shaped stickers found in a dresser in Casey's bedroom.

An FBI examiner had testified on Monday that she saw the outline of a small heart on the duct tape prosecutors say Casey used to smother her daughter.

But during cross examination on Tuesday, defense attorney Jose Baez asked whether Burroughs noticed the price of the stamp on the envelope beneath the sticker. He pointed out that it was 37 cents and asked if she had any idea how long it had been since a stamp cost that little.

Baez also noted the items in the box where the heart-shaped stickers were found were from a baby shower scrap book.

Cindy Anthony was called back to the stand and asked questions about two canvas laundry bags found during a search of her home.

Cindy said one of the canvas bags had been used to store balls Caylee played with and the other was used to collect her stuffed animals until they moved the toys to a display.

She said the latter bag had been placed between Caylee's bed and the wall, and that she had not seen it since.

Cindy became emotional during the testimony, her voice breaking as she explained, "that whole period was very difficult for me."

Prosecutors say Caylee's body was stuffed into a canvas laundry bag and two black plastic garbage bags with yellow ties like ones also found at the Anthony home.

Cindy also was asked to describe in detail the length and color of her hair at the time of Caylee's disappearance, as well as the hair of her daughter and granddaughter.

The state is expected to wrap up its case Wednesday by submitting two more pieces of evidence. The defense is expected to begin its presentation on Thursday.

(Editing by Colleen Jenkins and Jerry Norton)

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