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October, 2009

Convict Sues Former Hostage Over Ice Cream Truck Cost

Added: 2009-10-30 10:47:09

Portland, OR—A convicted killer is suing a man he once took hostage – and he's winning. The latest twist in a case which has garnered headlines from the beginning involves Tremayne Durham, a New York man who decided to open an ice-cream business and who custom ordered a musical ice cream tru...

West Virginia Rape Victim Says She Fabricated Story

Added: 2009-10-29 09:56:03

In 2007, Megan Williams's story made headlines, when the then-20-year-old told investigators of the brutal rape, beating, and torture she was forced to endure in her West Virginia home. Two years later, Williams is recanting her story, and is saying the whole story was made up, as a way to get back...

Charges Dropped for Chicago Teen Murder Suspect

Added: 2009-10-28 10:47:45

CHICAGO – A Chicago teen is breathing easier this week after police dropped the charges against him for the murder of 16-year-old Derrion Albert in September. Eugene Bailey, 17, was brought into custody after investigators reviewed eyewitness tapes and testimony concerning Albert's brutal beat...

Travolta Extortion Case Ends In Mistrial

Added: 2009-10-27 11:03:22

Two people, accused of attempting to extort actor John Travolta and his wife, Kelly Preston, following the death of their teenage son, have been ordered by a judge to stand trial again. A mistrial was declared on Wednesday, after the jury had deliberated for eight hours in the case of ambulance ...

Obama Administration Issues New Marijuana Policy

Added: 2009-10-26 09:59:20

WASHINGTON – The Justice Department announced on Monday their decision to forgo sanctioning suppliers of medical marijuana in states where the practice of selling the drug is legal. Justice officials told The Associated Press that the policy outlines rules for prosecutors, who will be told tha...

Parents Hope For Acquittal in Knox Murder Case

Added: 2009-10-23 09:11:35

The actions of an Italian court are giving hope to family and friends of Amanda Knox, a Seattle native who is being held in an Italian jail on charges of killing her roommate Meredith Kercher in 2007. The Italian court has forgone an opportunity to re-evaluate evidence in Knox's trial. This can ...

Radio Host Sees Justice for Ancestors after 94 years

Added: 2009-10-22 10:26:43

Nationally syndicated radio host Tom Joyner first found out about his family's past while participating in a PBS documentary, “African American Lives 2,” in 2008. Joyner, who hosts the daily “The Tom Joyner Morning Show,” was being interviewed by esteemed Harvard professor Henry Louis Gates...

Arizona “Sweatbox” Claims Third Victim

Added: 2009-10-21 08:54:43

Flagstaff, Ariz. – What was supposed to be a spiritual retreat turned into a deadly fiasco in early October in Sedona, Ariz. Two people died initially on October 8, prompting an investigation into the situation. A third woman died a week and a half later from complications stemming from her use o...

Settlement Reached in Metrolink Rail Suits

Added: 2009-10-20 12:41:09

Los Angeles—Most of the lawsuits brought by families of victims of a deadly rail disaster in California will be settled by the commuter rail agency involved. The agency, Metrolink, has agreed to settle almost 90 of the cases, including 15 serious injury claims and nine wrongful death suits. The ...

Two Murder Convictions in Brinks Heist Case

Added: 2009-10-19 13:27:55

Oakland, CA—Two men have been convicted of various charges after robbing a Brinks armored truck and killing its guard in 2006. Clifton Wherry, 31, who was employed by Brinks as a truck driver, is said to have masterminded the heist, which also involved Dwight Campbell, 26, and William Stalling...

Rape Victim Sees Justice After 19 Years

Added: 2009-10-16 14:03:26

Dickinson, Texas – At eight years old, Jennifer Schuett was taken from her room in the middle of the night, sexually assaulted, and left for dead by her captor. Her neck had been slashed, but she was still alive. Since then, Schuett has been on a quest for justice to find her kidnapper, but has h...

Scion of New York Philanthropy Family Guilty of Fraud, Grand Larceny

Added: 2009-10-15 14:05:01

Manhattan—After a six-month trial that saw a parade of socialite witnesses, the son of New York's first family of charity has been convicted of attempting to defraud his late mother's estate.Anthony Marshall, the son of renowned socialite and philanthropist Brooke Astor, has been found guilty on ...

Supreme Court Reject's Death Row Female's Appeal

Added: 2009-10-14 14:06:22

Washington, DC – The United States Supreme Court announced on Monday their decision to decline hearing appeals for more than 2,000 cases. Among those is the case of a Louisiana woman sentenced to death row for a 2003 murder. The inmate, Brandy Holmes, was convicted of murdering retired Shrevep...

Death Penalty Sought for Suspects of Florida Murders

Added: 2009-10-13 14:08:48

Pensacola, Fla. – Prosecutors announced on Monday their intent to pursue the death penalty for four of the seven suspects facing murder charges for the July slayings of Byrd and Melanie Billings. The four suspects facing the death penalty, Leonard Patrick Gonzalez Jr.; Wayne Thomas Coldiron; D...

Standoff Perpetrator, Tax Evader Faces 35 Years In Prison

Added: 2009-10-12 14:09:26

Concord, NH—A woman who had maintained a nine-month standoff on a 110-acre compound with her husband, in an attempt to avoid being imprisoned for tax evasion, has been sentenced to 35 years in prison. Elaine Brown, 68, had been convicted, along with her husband Ed, of a variety of conspiracy a...

Lawyer for G-20 Twittering Suspect Says Info Was Already Public

Added: 2009-10-09 14:23:19

Washington, DC—According to the attorney for a man arrested last month for distributing police whereabouts via Twitter, in order to help protesters at the G-20 summit avoid arrest, his client was only disseminating information that had already been made public by the police themselves. Police ...

Former Judge to Stand Trial on Charges of Kidnapping, Sex with Inmates

Added: 2009-10-08 14:24:16

Mobile, AL—One of the 15 cases against a former Alabama judge who allegedly checked inmates out of jail in order to have sex with them has been dropped, say prosecutors. In a lawsuit, one of the purported inmates has said that his attorney encouraged him to testify against the judge, threateni...

Company Fined for Hiring Underage Call Center Workers

Added: 2009-10-07 14:28:04

Salt Lake City, UT—A recent federal investigation has uncovered a legion of underage call-center workers employed by an Orem, UT company. Western Wats, a company which conducts market research and political surveys, and which operates call centers in seven states, allegedly employed children a...

After Botched Execution, Another Death Row Inmate Wants Delay

Added: 2009-10-06 14:29:30

Cincinnati, OH—In the wake of a failed attempt at executing another death row prisoner in September, Lawrence Raymond Reynolds, Jr., has asked the Ohio Supreme Court and a federal appeals court to grant him a stay of execution.Reynolds's lawyers point to the difficulties that technicians had in e...

After 16 Years, A Conviction in Chicago Restaurant Slayings

Added: 2009-10-05 14:31:51

Chicago, IL—After a month-long trial and only two hours of deliberation, jurors have found a former handyman guilty of killing seven people in a Chicago restaurant in 1993. According to his former girlfriend, James Degorski had agreed to help a friend who wanted to know what it was like to kil...

Adoption Attorney Pleads Not Guilty in Ponzi-Like Scheme

Added: 2009-10-02 14:33:38

Mineola, NY—Accused of running a Ponzi-like racket by promising children to potential adoptive couples, yet not following through by delivering the children, a New York attorney has plead not guilty to grand larceny and other charges. Kevin Cohen, 41, allegedly bilked couples from New York to ...

Director Polanski Arrested, May Face Extradition

Added: 2009-10-01 14:34:34

Zurich, Switzerland—Academy Award-winning film director Roman Polanski was arrested by Swiss police on a decades-old warrant issued in the United States.Polanksi, 76, was nabbed at the airport as he was arriving in Zurich to receive a lifetime achievement award at the Zurich Film Festival. He had...

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