National Roundup

Maine
40-year sentence upheld for man who killed his roommate
PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — Maine’s supreme court has upheld a 40-year prison sentence imposed on a man who killed his roommate in Old Orchard Beach.

Dustan Bentley pleaded guilty to murder in the death of 65-year-old William Popplewell, who was beaten, stabbed and strangled with a ligature.

Police arrested Bentley as he was attempting to use a ratchet and strap to pull the body into the trunk of his car, which was lined with a shower curtain. An autopsy revealed the victim suffered multiple broken bones and had been stabbed up to 30 times.

The Maine Supreme Judicial Court unanimously ruled there was nothing in the record to indicate that the judge made a mistake.

“At no point did the court depart from sentencing principles or abuse its discretion in coming to or issuing its sentence,” the court said.

Bentley and Popplewell met at a Portland homeless shelter, and Bentley later moved into Popplewell’s apartment in Old Orchard Beach in December 2018. Popplewell was killed in March 2019.

Oregon
Portland approves $600K to settle cop’s fatal shooting
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — The City Council in Portland, Oregon, on Wednesday approved a $600,000 payment to the family of a 24-year-old shot and killed by police after a foot chase that outside consultants later criticized as a police policy violation.

The payment settles a federal wrongful death lawsuit filed by Terrell Johnson’s mother, Alicia Johnson, who said her son was undergoing a mental health crisis when he was killed and had previously been suffering from mental health issues, The Oregonian/OregonLive reported.

He had sought help from medical professionals, but received none, the lawsuit said.

A Multnomah County grand jury found that Officer Samson Ajir acted lawfully.

Two years after the 2017 shooting, an outside consultant highlighted the confrontation as an example of the Portland Police Review Board’s failure to hold officers accountable for policy violations that contribute to deadly encounters with residents.
Jeremiah Johnson, Terrell Johnson’s uncle, told the City Council that the killing of his nephew has had a “ripple effect,” particularly when the officer was promoted while facing no discipline.

Ajir resigned from the Police Bureau on Jan. 3, according to state records, and works as a police officer for the Boise Police Department, according to the Johnson’s family lawyer.

Dispatchers said Terrell Johnson threatened riders at at light rail platform on May 10, 2017, and eventually ran from police.

Ajir and another officer ran after him. Under bureau policy, once officers chase a suspect, they’re supposed to notify dispatchers of the person’s direction, give a description and say whether the suspect is armed. Officers are to maintain a safe distance, shouldn’t try to overtake a fleeing suspect but keep the person in sight until they have sufficient cover to make an arrest.

The policy also generally prohibits foot chases of armed suspects except in “extreme circumstances,” which weren’t present in this case, according to the California-based Office of Independent Review Group hired by the city to evaluate Portland police shootings.

Ajir’s decision to chase after Johnson and get too close, coupled with his failure to communicate with officers and dispatch should have led to a finding that he violated policy, the consultant’s report said.

Police said Ajir tripped and fell and Johnson turned around holding what investigators later found to be a folding box cutter. Grand jury transcripts state that as Ajir fell, he shot at Johnson without being able to see where he was shooting. Johnson continued to advance and Ajir shot at him three more times, killing him.

Pennsylvania
Court says leaving scene of triple fatal is 1 charge, not 3
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — A truck driver who killed three people on an interstate outside Harrisburg can’t be sentenced to three consecutive prison terms for leaving the scene of the crash he caused while driving drunk, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruled Thursday.

The high court unanimously overturned a county judge’s decision to sentence Jack Edward Satterfield to serve, one after another, the three terms of three to six years.

Satterfield, 32, was hauling a partial load from New Jersey to Wisconsin in October 2018, driving 67 mph (108 kph), when he smashed into several vehicles that were stopped in a construction zone on Interstate 83. He crawled out of his truck through the driver’s side window and was among a crowd of onlookers in a nearby parking lot when police found him.

The crash killed a man and his 16-month-old daughter in one car and a college student in another, and left many others injured, wrote Justice Christine Donohue.

State law “unambiguously provides that the obligation to stop and remain at the scene results solely from the driver’s involvement in the accident, regardless of the number of victims or the severity of their injuries,” Donohue wrote.

Video from the cab of his truck showed Satterfield had been drinking during the drive from New Jersey, the justice recounted. He told police he had a beer and three margaritas with dinner, after which he purchased beer and liquor, Donohue wrote.

Satterfield’s blood alcohol level was found to be 0.15%. The state’s limit for driving is 0.04% for those with a commercial driver’s license who are in their commercial vehicle.

Satterfield pleaded guilty to three counts of homicide by vehicle, three counts of leaving the scene of a fatal accident and other charges. He is serving a 28 1/2- to 63-year sentence at the State Correctional Institution-Forest but will be resentenced.

Dauphin County District Attorney Fran Chardo said it is “unfortunate that the families are going to have to relive this tragedy again at resentencing.” A message seeking comment was left for Satterfield’s public defender.