National Roundup

Kansas
Trial in ‘swatting’ case delayed so suspect can pursue GED
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — The trial for a Kansas gamer accused in a deadly “swatting” call in 2017 has been delayed by an additional year after the man failed to obtain his high school equivalency.

The Wichita Eagle reports that the defense attorney for Shane Gaskill joined prosecutors last week in asking U.S. District Judge Eric Melgren to extend Gaskill’s 18-month pre-trial diversion for another 12 months so he can complete a GED program. A written motion from the attorneys said the extension “is in the best interests of the defendant and the United States.”

Melgren agreed to the request on Dec. 23. If Gaskill completes the terms of his deferred prosecution agreement, prosecutors can dismiss the criminal case.

Gaskill is charged with conspiracy, wire fraud and other counts in connection with a series of events on Dec. 28, 2017, that culminated in the fatal police shooting of an innocent 28-year-old man on the front porch of his family’s home in Wichita.

The death of Andrew Finch drew national attention to “swatting,” a form of retaliation in which someone reports a false emergency to get authorities, particularly a SWAT team, to descend on an address.

Gaskill got into an online argument with Ohio gamer Casey Viner while they were playing the Call of Duty video game. Authorities said Viner recruited Tyler R. Barriss to “swat” Gaskill, who was 19 at the time. But the address they used was old, leading police to Finch, who was not involved in the dispute or playing the video game.

Barriss, a Los Angeles man with an online reputation for “swatting,” called police from Los Angeles to falsely report a shooting and kidnapping at that Wichita address. Finch was shot by police when he opened the door to see what was happening outside.

Gaskill was charged as a co-conspirator after knowingly giving Barriss the same former address and taunting him to “try something.”

Barriss is serving 20 years in federal prison after pleading guilty to 51 counts in April 2019. Viner received a 15-month prison sentence in September 2019 after pleading guilty to conspiracy and obstruction of justice.


Virginia
Black photographer files complaint after police question him
ARLINGTON, Va. (AP) — A Black real estate photographer who was hired to take pictures of a home in Virginia has filed a complaint with police after officers questioned him and demanded his identification.

The Washington Post reported Monday that the incident occurred last week in the northern Virginia city of Arlington.

The photographer is Marlon Crutchfield. He is a former U.S. Capitol Police officer, Army veteran and licensed real estate agent.

Crutchfield was sitting in his car and waiting for his appointment in a neighborhood that’s near the U.S. Army’s Joint Base Myer-Henderson Hall.

Crutchfield said a white man asked what he was doing and alerted base security. He said Arlington police officers asked for his identification.

“That’s when I really got upset,” Crutchfield said. “If you take someone’s ID, that’s in lieu of detaining them.”

He was not arrested. Arlington police said that they responded a report of a suspicious person who was taking photos of a base entrance. The police issued a statement that said they “take our responsibility to protect our diverse and inclusive community willingly and without reservation.”

Crutchfield said he never left his car or took any photos from his car.

Julius D. Spain Sr. of the Arlington NAACP said he would seek a meeting with Arlington Commonwealth’s Attorney Parisa Dehghani-Tafti.

New York
Court upholds religious challenges of NY pandemic limits
NEW YORK (AP) — A federal appeals court on Monday upheld challenges to New York state’s attendance restrictions at houses of worship to curb the spread of the coronavirus.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit ruled that Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s order limiting attendance at places of worship with fixed capacity in hotspots “discriminates against religion on its face.”

The U.S. Supreme Court had issued an injunction against those limits pending the appeal. The Court of Appeals ordered the federal district court to issue a preliminary injunction prohibiting the state from enforcing 10- and 25-person attendance limits at houses of worship in red and orange zones, areas hardest hit by the virus.

The court’s action was a victory for the Roman Catholic Church and Orthodox Jewish synagogues that had sued to challenge the restrictions.

“Agudath Israel continues to encourage everyone to mask and to maintain social distancing, and we are certain that this is possible without threatening the religious liberties that our country holds dear,” Rabbi Chaim Dovid Zwiebel, executive vice president of Agudath Israel of America, said in a statement.

South Dakota
Arguments filed in lawsuit against legal pot
RAPID CITY, S.D. (AP) — More arguments are being filed in a lawsuit seeking to overturn a citizen-approved constitutional amendment legalizing marijuana in the state.

Pennington County Sheriff Kevin Thom and South Dakota Highway Patrol Superintendent Rick Miller filed a lawsuit last month challenging the constitutionality of the amendment, which legalized the cultivation, transport, possession and sale of marijuana in in the state.

The Rapid City Journal reports plaintiffs are arguing in court filings that the amendment legalizing marijuana violates the South Dakota Constitution in harmful ways, while the defendants say it doesn’t and that the lawsuit was filed too late.

South Dakota in November became the first state to legalize recreational and medical pot on the same ballot, after supporters of the two measures joined forces and promoted them as a package deal.

The lawsuit claims the amendment violates the state constitution by not following the “one-subject rule” and because it’s not an amendment but a revision that needed to be approved through a constitutional convention

Lawyers for Thom and Miller say the amendment interferes with other legislative and judicial roles while impacting 22 existing provisions in the constitution. They said the lawsuit is proper.

Attorney General Jason Ravnsborg’s office this month asked a judge to dismiss the lawsuit.