New York
Mavericks’ Felton pleads guilty in NYC firearm case
NEW YORK (AP) — Dallas Mavericks point guard Raymond Felton pleaded guilty Wednesday in a New York gun case, taking a plea deal that involved admitting a felony but spares him jail.
Felton pleaded guilty to attempted criminal possession of a weapon and criminal possession of a firearm. He admitted he knowingly had a large-capacity ammunition magazine and a pistol without a license.
“Are those charges true?” Manhattan state Supreme Court Justice Larry Stephen asked.
“Yes, sir,” Felton said, later adding in a soft voice, “I apologize.”
He was immediately sentenced to 500 hours of community service and ordered to pay a $5,000 fine. Manhattan Assistant District Attorney Jonathan Rebold said Felton will be allowed to do the service outside New York.
If he complies, the case will be closed without jail time or probation.
Felton has said the Manhattan district attorney’s office, which had outlined the agreement in court last month, was fair to him.
The criminal case arose last winter, as Felton grappled with the breakup of his marriage and navigated a struggling season with the New York Knicks. He was traded to Dallas last month, two days after his plea plan was announced.
About a week after Felton’s law student wife filed for divorce, her attorney brought a loaded semi-automatic handgun to a police precinct and said it was Felton’s and she wanted it out of the house, authorities said. Felton’s lawyer, Jim Walden, has said Felton never threatened anyone with the gun.
After police contacted Felton, he turned himself in shortly after a Mavericks-Knicks game at Madison Square Garden.
Felton was charged under a state law that bans many large-capacity ammunition magazines. Prosecutors said Felton’s could hold about 20 rounds.
The NBA has said it is monitoring the case. The league usually waits until criminal cases against players are resolved before deciding whether to impose any fine or suspension.
New York
Ex-CEO gets jail for stealing from poverty charity
NEW YORK (AP) — The politically connected former CEO of a prominent New York City charity has been sentenced to prison for helping to steal more than $9 million from the anti-poverty organization.
William Rapfogel was sentenced Wednesday to a term of 40 months to 10 years. His wife and other supporters looked on as he was led out of court, uncuffed, to start serving his term.
He pleaded guilty in April to grand larceny, money laundering and other charges in a case that rattled city and state political circles.
He formerly led the Metropolitan Council on Jewish Poverty.
He has paid $3 million in restitution.
South Carolina
Justices order new sentencing hearing for killer
COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — The state Supreme Court on Wednesday ordered a new sentencing hearing for a man on South Carolina’s death row for killing the mother of his child, ruling that his trial attorneys should have presented more evidence about his background and mental health history.
John Edward Weik was convicted in 1999 in the shotgun slaying of 27-year-old Susan Hutto Krasae at her home in Knightsville. She was the mother of Weik’s son, Daniel.
At the time, the Moncks Corner man confessed that he fired at least four shotgun blasts into Krasae, and it took a Dorchester County jury under an hour to sentence him to death. The woman’s 8-year-old daughter by her ex-husband testified that she saw Weik shoot her mother.
Weik appealed, arguing that he was not competent to stand trial and saying his sentence was too harsh in light of his mental problems. The justices disagreed, ruling in 2002 that the death penalty was proportionate to other cases where the murder.
The appeal on which the court ruled Wednesday had to do with Weik’s allegations that his trial attorneys made mistakes that ultimately landed him on death row. According to the court, Weik told police that he heard voices in his head just before the shooting and thought he was being monitored by law enforcement agencies and the Masons.
During the penalty phase of the trial, during which jurors decided if Weik would get life in prison or the death penalty, defense attorneys only called one witness, his sister, who testified briefly about his abusive upbringing.
“The defense, however, failed to present readily available evidence concerning Weik’s chaotic upbringing and dysfunctional family,” the court wrote.
Louisiana
Federal judge in gun-shipping trial orders delay
LAFAYETTE, La. (AP) — A federal judge has ordered a delay in the pretrial proceedings and trial of a Broussard man accused of illegally shipping weapons to his native Lebanon.
The Advertiser reports the pretrial hearing for Joseph Ali Youssef, a naturalized U.S. citizen from Beirut, was scheduled for July 28. The trial was set for Aug. 4. But U.S. District Judge Richard T. Haik granted a defense motion to delay those proceedings. Haik said Youssef’s defense has exercised due diligence but lacked “adequate time to prepare” for those court dates.
Charged with smuggling goods from the United States and with foreign shipment of firearms without proper documentation, Youssef is accused of attempting to ship legally purchased guns, armor and ammunition hidden in secret compartments inside household furniture to Beirut on April 17.
California
Man charged in bomb case must remain in prison
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — A California man arrested after an FBI manhunt must remain jailed without bail while awaiting trial on charges of possessing a destructive device.
A federal judge in San Francisco denied Ryan Chamberlain’s request to transfer to a mental hospital so he can get psychiatric treatment.
U.S. District Judge Vince Chhabria wrote in Tuesday’s filing that prosecutors had presented “clear and convincing” evidence that Chamberlain would be a danger to the public if released from jail.
Chamberlain was arrested in early June after a three-day manhunt that authorities said was prompted by the discovery of bomb-making materials in his apartment. Chamberlain apparently came to the attention of the FBI as it investigated and monitored an online marketplace where people allegedly bought and sold guns, bombs, drugs, chemicals and counterfeit goods.
