National Roundup

Virginia Judge sentences ex-teacher in terror case, again ALEXANDRIA, Va. (AP) -- For the third time in the last five years, a judge has sentenced a former Maryland schoolteacher to 15 years in prison for supporting a Pakistani terror group. U.S. District Judge Claude Hilton had twice sentenced Ali Asad Chandia to 15 years in prison for helping a leader of the Lashkar-e-Taiba terrorist group ship 50,000 paintball pellets from the U.S. to Pakistan. Twice a federal appeals court tossed out the sentence, ruling that Hilton did not articulate the justification for such a harsh term. At Friday's hearing, Hilton said the evidence showed that Chandia knew that Lashkar was a terrorist group and that he willingly lent his support. Iowa New damages trial ordered over strip search SIOUX CITY, Iowa (AP) -- A new trial to determine damages has been ordered for a Nebraska woman who had sued over a strip search at the Woodbury County Jail in Iowa. A federal jury had awarded Maureen Rattray (RAT'-tray) more than $250,000. Rattray, of South Sioux City, had alleged the search violated her rights. It occurred in August 2006 after a drunken-driving arrest. In an appeal, the defendants asked the judge to reduce the award or order a new trial to determine the amount. Sioux City television station KTIV reported that Judge Mark Bennett said his ruling doesn't mean he thinks the award should be cut. He says the jury initially issued their verdict in an incorrect format. Bennett says the jury's second verdict a few minutes later dramatically increased the amount for emotional distress. Louisiana 35-year sentence in shooting of police officer NEW ORLEANS (AP) -- A 35-year prison sentence has been handed down to a man convicted of shooting a New Orleans police officer in the head the day after Hurricane Katrina. New Orleans Criminal District Judge Terry Alarcon sentenced Jamil Joyner, 28, on Thursday, the Times-Picayune reported. Officer Kevin Thomas was shot on Aug. 30, 2005. Thomas survived, but testified at last year's trial that he now needs to take several medications and suffered from sight and seizure problems. Thomas and his partner, Officer John Mitchell, testified that they had stopped by a gas station on the day of the shooting because they spotted some people coming out of the convenience store there. Thomas said that Joyner shot him as he "patted down" one of Joyner's companions. Three other men were initially booked in the shooting, and two others faced charges in court. But jurors in the January 2010 trial acquitted Joyner's co-defendant, Vincent Walker, of participating in the shooting. Another man, Sye Carter, stood trial separately on charges of being a felon in possession of a firearm. He was acquitted by Alarcon. Since the trial, Joyner filed a motion for a new trial, largely focusing on the role that retired Lt. Robert Italiano played in his case. In a separate case, Italiano was accused of lying to the FBI and writing a false police report about the shooting of 31-year-old Henry Glover by a police officer at a strip mall in Algiers. Glover was shot and his body set on fire in a car by another police officer. But Italiano was acquitted of those charges in a federal trial last year. Alarcon denied Joyner's motion for a new trial. The shooting of a police officer after Katrina was cited by many officers cited during the Glover trial as a key event that put them on edge. New Mexico Forensics lab dealing with backlog of cases ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) -- Hundreds of drug and drunken driving cases are waiting to be processed at the Scientific Laboratory Division within the state Department of Health. The lab blames a U.S. Supreme Court ruling and a staffing shortage for the backlog. Lab director David Mills tells the Albuquerque Journal nationally accepted standards for doing forensic drug testing should take four to eight weeks, depending on the case. Instead, Mills says 500 cases have been sitting untested for longer than eight weeks. Mills says a U.S. Supreme Court ruling mandating that lab technicians be available to testify in cases they handle has significantly increased the time that analysts must spend in court. The lab is also short personnel. It's had seven openings since May. New York Woman gets 15 years for 2009 fatal shooting BINGHAMTON, N.Y. (AP) -- A 23-year-old woman has been sentenced to 15 years to life in prison for being an accomplice when her husband fatally shot a Pennsylvania woman during a robbery at an upstate New York home in 2009. Broome County prosecutors say Ashley Carnevale (kar-nuh-VAL'-ee) of Kirkwood was sentenced Thursday in a Binghamton court where she was convicted in December of second-degree murder, attempted robbery and attempted assault. Authorities say she and her husband, 23-year-old Anthony Carnevale III, tried to rob prescription drugs from a Kirkwood man's home in January 2009, when Anthony Carnevale shot and killed the man's guest, 39-year-old Jean Clark of Parsons, Pa. The homeowner wrestled the gun away from Carnevale and wounded him. Anthony Carnevale pleaded guilty in October 2009 to second-degree murder and attempted murder. He's serving 25 years to life in prison. Ohio Judge approves jail's stun gun deal with feds COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) -- A federal judge in Ohio has approved a settlement with the U.S. Justice Department that promises a dramatic decrease in the use of stun guns at a county jail. The county that includes Columbus made the deal with the federal government last month after a lawsuit alleged that jailers routinely used stun guns on inmates who pose no threat, including some who are disabled, pregnant or under the influence of drugs and alcohol. Besides cutting down use of the devices, Franklin County must stop using stun guns in almost all cases on inmates who are handcuffed or otherwise restrained. The Columbus Dispatch reports U.S. District Judge Edmund Sargus signed off on the agreement Thursday because it had drawn no opposition. The county sheriff's office has denied any wrongdoing. Published: Mon, Mar 14, 2011