National Roundup

Mississippi
Man accused of faking death denied plea deal
PASCAGOULA, Miss. (AP) — Any possibility of a plea deal has faded for a man accused of child sex crimes, and of faking his own death to avoid prison time, according to a Mississippi district attorney.

Jacob Blair Scott, 43, was in court in Pascagoula on Wednesday to face 14 felony charges, the Sun Herald reported.

It was Scott’s first time in court since U.S. Marshals said he was found hiding out in Antlers, Oklahoma, under a false identity. Authorities said he faked his own death to avoid charges that he raped and impregnated a 14-year-old girl.

Now that he’s been captured, District Attorney Angel Myers McIlrath said any chance for a plea deal is off the table, the Sun Herald reported. Scott had entered into a plea deal with the state before he went missing, which would have reduced his charges and lessened his sentence.

The next hearing for Scott was scheduled for April 20.

Mississippi
Ex-university leaders plead not guilty in prostitution sting
JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — The former president of Jackson State University and the school’s former art galleries director pleaded not guilty to charges related to a prostitution sting.

William Bynum Jr. wasn’t in court Wednesday, but his attorney entered the pleas on charges of procuring the services of a prostitute, false statement of identity and simple possession of marijuana, news outlets reported.

Bynum, 57, resigned  last month after his arrest in the Jackson suburb of Clinton. Police said he was among 17 people who responded to an online ad for prostitution services, and were met by an undercover police officer at a chain hotel.

An attorney also submitted not guilty pleas on behalf of Shonda McCarthy, former director of JSU art galleries. McCarthy, 46, was arrested in the same sting and charged with procuring services of a prostitute and possession of marijuana while operating a motor vehicle.

A trial for Bynum was scheduled for July 8, and a trial for McCarthy was set for June 24.

Missouri
Officer shot by colleague during game ‘assumed the risk’
ST. LOUIS (AP) — A St. Louis police officer who pleaded guilty to accidentally killing a female colleague while playing a variation of Russian roulette said the woman knew the risk she was taking.

Nathaniel Hendren made the response Wednesday in a wrongful death lawsuit that was filed on behalf of the mother of Katlyn Alix, 24, who also was a St. Louis officer, KSDK reported.

Hendren is serving a seven-year sentence for involuntary manslaughter for killing Alix at his home in January 2019 while he was supposed to be on duty elsewhere.

Also named in the lawsuit is Hendren’s partner on the force, who also was at the home while on duty. Alix was off-duty at the time.

In the response, Hendren admitted to acting recklessly on the night of Alix’s death. But his attorney, Talmage Newton, said Alix assumed risk by voluntarily participating in the game.

Hendren also said he and Alix were involved in a romantic relationship, and Alix had been planning to divorce her husband. Hendren said that Alix was in the process of moving in with him when she was shot.

When Alix and Officer Patrick Riordan got to his house, Hendren admitted that he drank a small amount of alcohol. He said Alix also drank alcohol. He denied any illegal drug use by the three of them.

Hendren admitted taking out his personal revolver, but he claimed Alix was the first person to brandish an off-duty weapon that night. The response said he did not believe that the cartridge was in the “active cylinder position” when he pointed the gun at Alix and pulled the trigger.

“Defendant states that Alix voluntarily engaged in this activity and assumed the risk of bodily injury or death,” Talmage said in the response.

Hendren denied that he had a history of forcing previous girlfriends to play Russian roulette. He also disputed having substance abuse and psychiatric issued that included post-traumatic stress disorder.

Hendren, who left the police department soon after the shooting, previously apologized when he was sentenced, telling Alix’s mother that he hoped his plea could “help heal the brokenness I’ve caused.”

Texas
Man sentenced to death for killing 2 women
HOUSTON (AP) — A jury handed the death penalty verdict to a Houston man convicted of capital murder for killing two people 10 years ago.

A Harris County jury deliberated for less than five hours Tuesday before deciding that Lucky Ward should be handed a death penalty, not life in prison without parole, for strangling a transgender woman, Charlie Rodriguez, and a homeless woman, Reita Long, in 2010.

Ward, 55, didn’t show visible reactions when Texas District Judge Chuck Silverman read the verdict in Harris County Criminal Court on Tuesday. But as he was leaving the courtroom, he addressed the family of one victim, the Houston Chronicle reported.

“I’m sorry,” he said.

The jury last week convicted Ward of murder, and on Tuesday, it agreed with prosecutors on that Ward continues to be a threat to society.

Texas law allows death sentences to be appealed automatically.

Long’s family, including daughter and sister, on Tuesday took the witness stand.

“I will never get to see or touch her again,” said Long’s daughter, Chanel Long. “You murdered my mother, and I remember like it was yesterday.”

Long was a teacher and homeless at the time of her death in 2010. She was discovered with a bra wrapped around her neck. Rodriguez, a transgender woman and a hairdresser, was found that same year in her home, nude and covered by blankets.

Prosecutors also suspect Ward strangled at least three other women, but he was only charged and convicted for murdering Rodriguez and Long.

“Jurors had the courage to look at all the evidence, give a voice to the victims, and declare that he was the worst of the worst,” Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg said after the verdict.
“Ward tortured and brutalized his victims with no mercy.”

Ward’s defense attorneys declined the newspaper’s request for comment after the trial.

In closing statements on Tuesday, defense attorneys pointed to trauma Ward experienced while growing up, through sexual abuse from his uncle and physical abuse from his father.
According to testimony, Ward’s trauma led to his diagnoses of schizoaffective disorder.

“Before you judge a man, walk a mile in his shoes,” attorney Jimmy Ortiz said in closing statements. “In this case, Mr. Ward was dealt a very bad deck of cards.”