Washington
Police: Woman wanted duo to rob restaurant
WASHINGTON, Pa. (AP) - Police say a woman tried to get a couple to rob the Pennsylvania fast-food restaurant where she worked.
Police say 23-year-old Alayna Weishner-Rush asked the duo to rob the Burger King in Washington, Pennsylvania, on Jan. 14. The suspect wanted them to rob the restaurant while she was working the drive-thru window, so she could split the money with them later.
But police say the couple instead contacted police about the plan and no robbery occurred.
The Washington Observer-Reporter first reported the charges Monday. They were filed last week and Weishner-Rush faces a preliminary hearing on two counts of criminal solicitation on Feb. 16.
Online court records don't list an attorney for the suspect, who remains in the Washington County jail on charges she violated parole in another case.
Connecticut
Man convicted for murder he didn't commit gets $6 million
HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) - A man who served more than 20 years in prison for a murder he did not commit has been awarded $6 million by the state of Connecticut.
Miguel Roman was released from prison in 2008 after DNA tests pointed to another man in the 1988 slaying of a 17-year-old girl in Hartford.
In the award decision issued Monday, Claims Commissioner J. Paul Vance Jr. apologized to Roman "for the burden that he was forced to suffer" during his imprisonment, the Hartford Courant reported. Vance said, "No words or dollar amount will suffice to give him back the time that he lost and the misery that he endured."
Roman, who is now 59, was sentenced to prison for 60 years after a jury convicted him in 1990 of the killing of Carmen Lopez. Vance said Roman was convicted despite a lack of physical evidence tying him to the crime.
Another man, Pedro Miranda, was found guilty of the girl's murder in 2011 and is serving a life sentence.
In support of a request for $8.5 million, Roman said in a filing with the claims commissioner last September that he lived in constant fear that he might be hurt or assaulted during the 20 years, six months and 10 days that he spent in prison. He said he still deals with bouts of anxiety and "ruminates over the injustice done to him and his losses."
A pending lawsuit filed by Roman in federal court against the city of Hartford alleges misconduct by police who investigated the slaying of Lopez.
California
Publisher to pay $14M in 'Happy Birthday' case
LOS ANGELES (AP) - Music publisher Warner/Chappell Music will return $14 million in fees to settle a lawsuit that challenges its claim to "Happy Birthday," one of the world's best-known songs.
A federal judge ruled in September that Warner/Chappell didn't own the lyrics and had no right to charge for their use.
The Los Angeles Times cites court documents released Monday that outline terms of a settlement reached in December. Under the deal, Warner/Chappell will give up its claims to the ubiquitous song and reimburse those who paid licensing fees.
The settlement was announced as a trial was set to begin. The lawsuit called on the publisher to return fees collected over the years for use of the song in movies and other commercial ventures.
The deal is tentative pending a judge's approval.
Louisiana
Man seeks reduced sentence, new trial in OD
BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) - A Denham Springs man found guilty in the 2013 heroin overdose death of his girlfriend is asking a state judge to either reduce his second-degree murder conviction to negligent homicide or grant him a new trial.
The Advocate reports 26-year-old Jarret McCasland faces life in prison without parole when sentenced Thursday. A jury convicted him in November in the July 2013 death of 19-year-old Flavia Cardenas.
Under a rarely used provision of Louisiana's second-degree murder statute, prosecutors had to prove that the heroin McCasland is accused of giving Cardenas was the direct cause of her death.
McCasland's attorneys say the law under which he was prosecuted was never intended to apply to cases such as his, and that the life sentence without parole amounts to cruel and unusual punishment.
New Mexico
Police seize files from archdiocese in investigation
SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) - Authorities have seized records from the Archdiocese of Santa Fe as part of an investigation into claims that a Catholic school teacher inappropriately touched female students.
The New Mexican reports that Santo Nino Regional Catholic School art teacher Aaron Chavez has been charged with five counts of sexually touching young girls during classes.
The archdiocese says the 47-year-old Chavez was placed on administrative leave.
Affidavits for search warrants filed in district court Monday say deputies took items from the school and archdiocese offices, including student files, teacher's personnel files, a laptop computer and electronic memory cards.
Chavez' lawyer John Samore has said his client denies the allegations.
A spokeswoman for the archdiocese did not immediately respond to a message seeking comment Monday.
Minnesota
ACLU to file claim seeking video from fatal police shooting
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) - The Minnesota chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union and the Minneapolis NAACP plan to ask a judge to force authorities to release video footage of the fatal shooting of Jamar Clark.
Clark was shot by a Minneapolis police officer on Nov. 15 during what authorities said was a struggle. But others have said Clark was handcuffed at the time.
The ACLU and NAACP are planning a news conference Tuesday to announce a lawsuit against the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension.
The BCA has said some video from the night of Clark's shooting exists, but it will not be released until after the case is closed. The investigation is ongoing.
The death of the 24-year-old Clark prompted several protests, including an 18-day demonstration outside the police station.
Published: Wed, Feb 10, 2016
