McConnell talks with students about shooting

Jury debates Ga. ex-deputy's murder trial
DECATUR, GA. — A DeKalb County jury is scheduled to resume deliberating the case of a 51-year-old former sheriff's deputy accused of killing his wife and a day laborer. Derrick Yancey could be sentenced to life in Prison for the shooting death of his wife, Linda Yancey, and Marcial Cax-Puluc in 2008. The jury, which deliberated for about nine hours combined on Friday and Monday, was to go back to work Tuesday morning. On Monday, jurors briefly halted deliberations to hear a 911 tape aga...

Jury in ex-deputy trial has yet to reach a verdict
DECATUR, GA. — The jury in the trial of an ex-DeKalb County Sheriff's deputy charged with killing his wife and a day laborer are heading into their fourth day of deliberations. The jury will reconvene Wednesday in the trial of 51-year-old Derrick Yancey. He faces a minimum of two life sentences in the 2008 shooting deaths of his wife, Linda Yancey, a detention officer, and laborer Marcial Cax-Puluc. Prosecutors have alleged that Yancey fatally shot his wife several times in the chest an...

Federal judge to hear Wesley Snipes' motion for new trial after actor says jury was biased
OCALA, FLA. — Actor Wesley Snipes is heading back to Court, hoping to convince a central Florida Judge he deserves a new trial because he claims the jury was biased. U.S. District Court Judge William Terrell Hodges will hear arguments Nov. 15. Snipes argues some jurors decided he was Guilty before hearing any evidence and prosecutors hid damaging information about a key witness. Snipes faces a three-year Prison sentence for Tax-related Crimes. Snipes was found Guilty of willfully failin...

New trial for deputy on aiding prisoners
Published: Nov. 2, 2010 at 10:38 AM N.Y. mob boss Franzese Sr. gets 20 years San Diego, Nov. 2 (UPI) -- A new trial was scheduled for a San Diego sheriff's deputy accused of assisting jailed Mexican mafia members. The deputy, Andres Villota, is scheduled for a second trial Jan. 18 on charges of destroying or concealing evidence and writing a false Police Report, the San Diego Union-Tribune reported Monday. A San Diego Superior Court jury deliberated for about four days last week, but was unabl...

Lake Brantley murder trial ends with plea deal
SANFORD — Murder trial No. 3 for Brian Harvey ended abruptly this afternoon when he agreed to a plea deal that sends him to Prison for 22 years for second-degree Murder. Harvey, 22, was on trial in the 2006 shooting death of Mitch Weiner, 17, a Lake Brantley weight lifter and football player. Weiner was shot in the head as he traveled down Interstate 4 in the back seat of a car with Harvey and two other men. Harvey didn't shoot Weiner, but prosecutors alleged that he was in on the plot to...

Lawyers question witness to NH home attacks
NASHUA, N.H. — Defense Lawyers are questioning the teen who witnessed the machete and knife attacks that killed a New Hampshire mother and seriously wounded her 11-year-old daughter. Nineteen-year-old William Marks said Murder defendant Steven Spader began attacking the Victims with a machete as they lay huddled in bed pleading with him to stop. Marks testified Spader wielded the machete with both hands while co-defendant Christopher Gribble hacked at the Victims with a knife. Gribble&rsq...;

William Curl, Man Charged In Toni Keller's Murder, Could Face Death
DeKalb, Ill. — An Illinois man may face the death penalty if convicted in the slaying of a college freshman who went missing earlier this month. William Curl is jailed on $5 million bail in the death of Northern Illinois University freshman Antinette "Toni" Keller. The 34-year-old Curl of DeKalb appeared in court Saturday via closed-circuit TV. He has been charged with First-degree Murder, criminal Sexual Assault and Arson. DeKalb County Judge James Donnelly told Curl about the death pen...

Man appears in court in NIU slaying
A DeKalb man accused of killing Northern Illinois University freshman Antinette "Toni" Keller nodded and said yes when a Judge this morning asked if he understood the charges against him. William P. Curl, 34, was dressed in an orange jail jumpsuit as he appeared in DeKalb County Court via closed-circuit television on charges of First-degree Murder, criminal Sexual Assault and Arson. During a hearing that lasted about 10 minutes, Curl looked down as the charges were read and nodded and responde...

761,000-plus Georgians cast their ballots early
The Associated Press reports more than 761,000 voters cast their ballots by mail or at voting stations across Georgia before early voting largely ended last Friday, according to unofficial results from Secretary of State Brian Kemp’s office. Much of the early voting was clustered around Atlanta, the state’s population center. More than 55,000 early ballots were cast in Cobb County, where both Candidates hope to perform strongly. Barnes lives there, although Republican Sonny Perdue ...

Psychiatric exam requested for man accused of NIU slaying
A public defender has requested a psychiatric examination for a DeKalb man accused of sexually assaulting and killing Northern Illinois University freshman art Student Antinette "Toni" Keller. William Curl, 34, is charged with First-degree Murder, criminal Sexual Assault and Arson in the death of the 18-year-old from Plainfield. Remains believed to be Keller's were found Oct. 16 in Prairie Park, just south of the NIU campus in DeKalb. Public Defender Regina Harris was assigned to represent Kel...

Georgia pastor answers sex lawsuit
Published: Nov. 2, 2010 at 11:43 AM Rev. Bernice King sits with Bishop Eddie Long during Funeral services for King's mother, Coretta Scott King, at the New Birth Missionary Baptist Church in Lithonia, Ga., February 7, 2006. Coretta Scott King was the wife of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. (UPI Photo/Ric Feld/Pool) Atlanta, Nov. 2 (UPI) -- The senior pastor of a Georgia mega church has asked a court to dismiss Lawsuits accusing him of coercing four young men into Sexual relationships. Bishop Edd...

Turnout reports excite Dems
National Democrats are seizing on reports of high turnout today — operatives working on House races, Senate races and at the Democratic National Committee have all e-mailed reporters touting high numbers. The DNC points to high turnout in urban areas, including Cook County, Ill.; St. Louis.; South Bend, Ind.; Pittsburgh and Philadelphia; DeKalb County in metropolitan Atlanta; Bridgeport, Conn.; and in New Jersey and North Carolina. It’s a theme Democrats have been hitting on over t...

Georgia televangelist denies sex allegations
Bishop Eddie Long denied accusations of sexual misconduct in Court papers. Prominent Georgia Televangelist Bishop Eddie Long has denied claims outlined in a suit filed in September which accuses him of coercing four young male congregants into sexual relationships. Read details about the suits. According to Court documents filed in DeKalb County, Georgia, Long denied each man's claim. However, Long said he provided cars to the young men so they would have transportation

GOP incumbents sweep top state courts
The state's highest Appellate Courts remained all-Republican as voters swept six Incumbents to victory Tuesday, continuing 16 years of futility for Democrats who haven't won a statewide judicial Election since 1994. On the Texas Supreme Court, newcomers Eva Guzman and Debra Lehrmann were elected to six-year Terms by comfortable margins. Both faced their First Election since Gov. Rick Perry appointed them to fill Retirement-caused vacancies. Supreme Court Justice Paul Green also won, receiving a ...

Scrugs jury meets after closing arguments
A Common Pleas Court jury is to resume deliberations Wednesday on the fate of Rasheed Scrugs: life in Prison or death for last year's killing of Police Officer John Pawlowski. The eight women and four men met for an hour late Tuesday afternoon after closing arguments by prosecution and Defense Lawyers and legal instructions on the state's death-penalty statute by Judge Renee Cardwell Hughes. In deciding a sentence for Scrugs, 35, a paroled robber from West Philadelphia, the jury must weigh aggra...

At DeLay's money-laundering trial, former treasurer of PAC defends use of funds
Austin - The ex-treasurer of former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay's Political action Committee told jurors Tuesday that there was nothing wrong with the PAC's collecting corporate Money, as long as it didn't go to Candidates. This Story At DeLay's money-laundering trial, former treasurer of PAC defends use of funds Prosecutors: DeLay illegally directed funds to GOP DeLay Indicted in Texas Finance Probe Prosecutors contend DeLay used his PAC to illegally funnel $190,000 in corporate donation...

DeLay defense: Money swap was common
Tom DeLay’s Lawyers argued Tuesday that money swaps are a common practice in politics and legal if corporate money is kept separate of donations intended for Candidates. Judge Pat Priest would have none of it. “I don’t care if The Pope or the Dalai Lama were doing it,” Priest said, “it doesn’t matter.” DeLay is accused of conspiring to launder $190,000 of corporate money into donations to Texas Candidates during the 2002 Elections. Specifically, Texans f...

Levy defendant wrote about 'dead girl,' pen pal says
WASHINGTON _The man accused of killing Chandra Levy told a Prison pen pal that some thought him responsible for a “muchacha muerta” _ a dead girl _ according to disputed Testimony Tuesday afternoon. The pen pal, Miami resident Maria Mendez, said Ingmar Guandique wrote her out of the blue in 2003. At the time, Guandique was in federal Prison on charges unrelated to Levy’s 2001 death. “He told me his down and outs, his life, his deeds, his predicaments, his behavior,“ Me...

Sanders-Wiggins state Supreme Court contest too close to call
Outspoken State Supreme Court Justice Richard Sanders and Bainbridge Island attorney Charlie Wiggins were locked in a tight race for the seat with each garnering about 50 percent of the vote in early returns Tuesday night. Sanders, seeking a fourth term, came under fire at the end of the race over his remarks that African Americans commit more crimes. Wiggins was leading in populous King County, tallying 56 percent of the vote with many ballots to be counted. Sanders' backers included the gun ...

Judge orders veteran's arrest
CHATTANOOGA - An East Tennessee judge ordered the arrest of a Military Retiree who is accused of intruding on a Monroe County Grand Jury. A Monroe County Sheriff's Department spokeswoman said Monday that retired Navy Lt. Commander Walter Fitzpatrick III of Sweetwater was being sought. Special Circuit Judge Jon Blackwood also ordered Fitzpatrick held without bond until his Dec. 1 trial. Fitzpatrick, 58, did not immediately return a telephone message. He claims the Grand Jury is unlawful and wants...

Creep accused of stalking 'Law & Order' actress Kathryn Erbe online 'didn't act like ordinary fan'
A pudgy creep stalked former "Law & Order" actress Kathryn Erbe and lashed out at her when he rejected his demands for a "physical connection," a prosecutor said Tuesday. Charles Nagel, married and the father of two girls, shook his head no repeatedly in Brooklyn Federal Court as the prosecutor charted his escalating obsession. "When she didn't give him the attention he wanted, he stalked her over the Internet," Assistant U.S. Attorney Allon Lifshitz in opening arguments. "He didn't act li...

NYPD: "Situation" Will Be All Clear
The NYPD plans to soon close the Criminal Investigation into Marc Sorrentino -- the brother of Jersey Shore star Mike "The Situation" Sorrentino -- after a woman first told them he had threatened her with a Broken Bottle and held her captive inside a limousine. Marc Sorrentino has called the woman a liar and filed a counter-claim in New Jersey that she had filed a false Police Report, his Lawyer said. An NYPD spokesman said Tuesday that, after an Investigation, detectives had not found...

Guantanamo military procedures at a standstill
Reporting from Guantanamo Bay, Cuba — At first glance, the Military trials of Terrorism suspects at Guantanamo Bay appear to be winding down. One Prisoner recently pleaded guilty to Murder and other charges, and just one more, Noor Uthman Mohammed of Sudan, is charged with War Crimes for alleged complicity with Al Qaeda. Of nearly 800 Terrorism suspects brought to this remote U.S. base in southern Cuba over nearly nine years, 174 remain, most because of diplomatic troubles between Washi...

San Antonio crew faced obstacles, former leader testifies
NORFOLK The first commander to take the first-in-its-class San Antonio on Deployment testified Tuesday about the ship's shortfalls at the Court-martial of his former executive officer. At issue is the role Lt. Cmdr. Sean Kearns played in the small-boat mishap that resulted in the death of a crew member in February 2009. The vessel flipped over and Petty Officer 1st Class Theophilus Ansong was lost at sea. Capt. Kurt Kastner had turned over command of the amphibious transport dock ship to Cmdr. E...

Yanks on Lidle roster
Defense Lawyers want to bench a bunch of Bronx Bombers slated to testify at a trial over the 2006 plane-crash Death of their teammate Cory Lidle. Court papers reveal that Cirrus Design Corp. has objected to plans by the tragic pitcher's widow, Melanie, to call a bevy of ballplayers to the witness stand for her Wrongful-death suit against the Aircraft manufacturer. The list filed in Manhattan Federal Court includes Yankee stars Derek Jeter, Mariano Rivera and Jorge Posada. Also named are gen...