|
|
|
Accused UK police killer changes plea to guilty
Legal News |
2013/02/27 23:00
|
A 29-year-old man accused of murdering two unarmed British police officers in a gun and grenade attack dramatically changed his plea to guilty Tuesday, midway through his trial.
Dale Cregan had denied killing Fiona Bone and Nicola Hughes, but on Tuesday admitted the murders, replying "guilty" as a court clerk read out the charges.
The two officers were killed as they responded to a burglary call near Manchester, northwest England, in September.
Prosecutors said Cregan — who had made the false emergency call — waited for police to arrive, then opened fire with a Glock pistol.
He fired 24 shots at Bone, hitting her between five and eight times. Hughes was shot eight times, including three times in the head as she lay on the ground.
As he fled, Cregan lobbed a military fragmentation grenade into the yard of the house where the police officers lay, prosecutors said |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Marine pleads guilty to urinating on Afghan corpses
Legal News |
2013/01/17 23:47
|
A Marine who urinated on the corpses of Taliban fighters in a video seen worldwide pleaded guilty Wednesday to several charges at a court-martial at Camp Lejeune, N.C.
Staff Sgt. Edward W. Deptola admitted desecrating the remains and posing with the bodies of insurgents in Afghanistan for what he called “trophy photographs.’’ He also admitted that he failed to supervise other Marines involved in the incident and did not report the violations of military regulations.
In a 39-second video that was widely viewed on the Internet after it appeared in January 2012, four Marines in combat gear were shown urinating on three corpses in southern Afghanistan in July 2011. One Marine could be overheard saying to one of the bodies, “Have a good day, buddy.’’
Deptola had previously been instructed that desecrating corpses was a serious violation of Marine Corps regulations, he told the presiding judge, Lt. Col. Nicole Hudspeth. Nonetheless, he said, he urinated on the dead men and did not intervene to prevent other Marines in his sniper platoon from doing so. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Court upholds sentence of ex-CIA station chief
Legal News |
2012/12/03 18:53
|
An appeals court has unanimously upheld the nearly 5 ½-year sentence of a former CIA station chief for sexually abusing an unconscious woman at the mansion the U.S. government provided for him in Algeria.
The three-judge panel ruled Friday that U.S. District Judge Ellen Huvelle had adequately explained why she sentenced Andrew Warren to roughly double what was called for in sentencing guidelines.
Warren argued that his Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, depression and substance abuse made it unreasonable to give him more than a brief sentence, followed by treatment at a private facility. The appeals court disagreed.
After Warren was fired, federal agents found him high on crack in a Virginia motel room with a semi-automatic pistol in his shorts. He pleaded guilty to abusive sexual contact and a gun charge.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Lawyer accused of laundering money to request bail
Legal News |
2012/11/15 12:29
|
A U.S. lawyer who faces charges of laundering more than $600 million for a Mexican drug cartel is scheduled to ask to be released on bail.
Marco Antonio Delgado will have his detention hearing Wednesday in federal court in El Paso, Texas.
Prosecutors say Delgado conspired to launder a cartel's drug profits from July 2007 through December 2008. The indictment doesn't say which cartel.
Delgado is a former Carnegie Mellon University trustee and gave a $250,000 endowment to create a scholarship named after him to assist Hispanic students.
A profile later removed from the university's website says he left his professional duties to work with Mexican president-elect Enrique Pena Nieto. Pena's team denies knowing Delgado. The university says the biographical information was submitted by Delgado. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Scottsdale considers law firm contract in suit
Legal News |
2012/11/06 10:33
|
The City Council in Scottsdale is poised to approve a $350,000 contract with a law firm it has hired to defend a former officer in a wrongful death lawsuit over the last of his six fatal shootings.
The city hired Struck, Wieneke & Love to defend former officer James Peters in a suit filed by the relatives of John Loxas and the American Civil Liberties Union. The City Council is set to consider the contract on Nov. 13, according to the Arizona Republic reports.
Peters fatally shot Loxas on Feb. 14 after police were called to his house. He was unarmed and holding his 7-month-old grandson in his doorway when Peters shot him in the head.
The shooting was the officer's seventh since 2002. He has since retired with an accidental disability pension of $4,547 per month, according to the city.
Another firm is defending the city and other officials under a contract worth up to $50,000.
The suit was filed on Sept. 24 and claims, among other things, that city officials failed to adequately investigate the previous shootings. It alleges that the city and Police Chief Alan Rodbell didn't establish adequate policies to protect against the "unreasonable use of force by its officers."
The suit seeks unspecified damages against Peters, the city, Rodbell and Detective Brian McWilliams. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Court lets stand telecom immunity in wiretap case
Legal News |
2012/10/10 10:45
|
The Supreme Court is leaving in place a federal law that gives telecommunications companies legal immunity for helping the government with its email and telephone eavesdropping program.
The justices said Tuesday they will not review a court ruling that upheld the 2008 law against challenges brought by privacy and civil liberties advocates on behalf of the companies' customers. The companies include AT&T, Inc., Sprint Nextel Corp. and Verizon Communications Inc.
Lawsuits filed by the American Civil Liberties Union and Electronic Frontier Foundation accused the companies of violating the law and customers' privacy through collaboration with the National Security Agency on intelligence gathering.
The case stemmed from surveillance rules passed by Congress that included protection from legal liability for telecommunications companies that allegedly helped the U.S. spy on Americans without warrants. |
|
|
|
|
|
Legal News RSS Feed
