Court Roundup

North Carolina Daughter of Malcolm X to stay in jail for now MARSHALL, N.C. (AP) -- The children of Malcolm X say they continue to stand behind one of their sisters who prosecutors accuse of stealing the identity of the widow of one of the slain civil rights leader's former bodyguards and using it to run up $55,000 in credit card bills. Malikah Shabazz was denied bond in a North Carolina courtroom Tuesday as authorities from New York City prepare to pick her up on warrants issued more than a year ago, her attorney Sean Devereux said. The judge will reconsider his ruling if Shabazz has not been extradited by March 4, Devereux said. Shabazz, 45, was arrested Friday after an anonymous caller claimed Shabazz's daughter was not attending school. Department of Social Services investigators went to her Mars Hill home in western North Carolina, and authorities determined Shabazz had several outstanding warrants issued in 2009 in Queens, N.Y., that include charges for grand larceny, forgery and identity theft. Shabazz stole the identity of a family friend who is the widow of a bodyguard who was with Malcolm X when he was assassinated at the Audubon Ballroom in New York City in February 1965, Queens District Attorney Richard Brown said in a press release Tuesday. She used the fake identity to charge more than $55,000 in the victim's name between August 2006 and November 2007, Brown said. Shabazz faces up to seven years in prison if convicted. Shabazz denied the charges and is upset her longtime friend would make up these allegations, Devereux said. The DSS allegation is also not true because Shabazz's 13-year-old was home-schooled, Devereux said. The arrest is the latest challenge for the family. Shabazz and her twin sister were born after their father's death 46 years ago Monday. Their mother, Betty Shabazz, died in a 1997 fire that her then 12-year-old grandson admitted setting. Maine Bank-robbing bus driver gets 10 years in jail BANGOR, Maine (AP) -- A bank-robbing bus driver who was dubbed the Burly Bandit and hit banks in six northeastern states, spending the stolen money on strippers, sports memorabilia and nightlife, is going to prison for 10 years. Robert Ferguson, a 48-year-old Greyhound driver, hit nearly a dozen banks during a three-month spree last summer before surveillance camera images led police to him after a job in Bangor, Maine. He was nicknamed the Burly Bandit by the FBI because of his stocky build. A federal judge on Tuesday ordered Ferguson to pay $81,059 in restitution to the banks he robbed. Ferguson pleaded guilty to 11 counts of robbery for the heists at banks and credit unions. The jobs started April 9 in Buffalo, N.Y., continued in Vermont, Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Rhode Island and ended with a July 13 job at a bank in Orono, Maine. The modus operandi was always the same: Ferguson, using a disguise and brandishing a toy gun or a pellet gun, would enter the bank, demand money and threaten to kill employees if they disobeyed him. He always fled on foot, walking to a getaway car nearby. Investigators suspected he was a long-haul trucker or worked in some other occupation that required travel in the region. Ferguson, of Lowell, Mass., spent the stolen money on stereo equipment for his car, outings to see the Blue Man Group in Boston and a Charlie Daniels Band concert, a Mother's Day dinner at a pricy steakhouse and strip clubs, where he was known to spend up to $3,000 a night. He also bought sports memorabilia, prosecutors said. He was arrested the day after the Maine robbery following tips from people who recognized him from surveillance photos. South Dakota Smoking ban challenged in lawsuit SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) -- A Sioux Falls businessman who sued the city over its regulation of video lottery machines has now filed a lawsuit challenging South Dakota's new smoking ban. Voters last November approved banning smoking in bars and casinos. Rick Law alleges in his lawsuit that the ban violates the rights of private property owners by restricting their business decisions. The lawsuit also says the law creates a "special class" of business owners by giving smoke shop owners the right to allow smoking on their property. It asks a judge to declare the law unconstitutional. Attorney General Marty Jackley will defend the ban in court. Pennsylvania Erie man who sought sex slaves guilty in porn case ERIE, Pa. (AP) -- A federal court jury has taken just 90 minutes to convict an Erie man on child pornography charges, after hearing testimony that he chatted online with the mother of a 4-year-old girl about his desire to breed a "society" of sex slaves. Thirty-two-year-old Jeremy Noyes was indicted in 2008 on charges he possessed child pornography, but his case was distinguished by chats with the New Zealand woman. Noyes denied putting the images of 41 children on his computer, saying instead they were planted there by his girlfriend who went to authorities after learning about Noyes' sex colony ideas. Noyes' attorney has argued the chats were pure fantasies and his mother tells the Erie Times-News he is just an "innocent and idealistic kid." Noyes was convicted Tuesday and will be sentenced June 23. Tennessee Teen accused in plot to kill parents in court MURFREESBORO, Tenn. (AP) -- A teen accused of plotting to kill his parents will remain in juvenile detention for the time being. According to the Daily News Journal, Rutherford County Juvenile Court Magistrate Adam Dodd found probable cause Tuesday to continue court proceedings against the unidentified 16-year old. Police have accused the La Vergne High School student of sending and receiving text messages about having his parents killed for $3,000. But he is the one who was injured when several people tried to force their way into his home and began firing on Feb. 16. His wounds were not life-threatening. Investigators believe as many as four people were involved in shooting, including two who are in custody -- Jeremy Martin, 19, and another 16-year-old. Two others remain at large. A plea hearing for both teens is scheduled for Feb. 28. Published: Thu, Feb 24, 2011