National Roundup

Ohio Alleged serial killer suspect in rape CLEVELAND (AP) -- Prosecutors preparing for next month's Ohio trial of a man accused of killing 11 women say DNA from a previously untested rape kit matches the defendant. The Plain Dealer of Cleveland reports prosecutors may call as a witness the woman who told police she was raped in April 2009 in Cleveland Heights. The alleged rape occurred before five of the 11 alleged murder victims of 51-year-old Anthony Sowell (SOH'-wehl) disappeared. The Cleveland police department's handling of sexual assault cases has been under review. Sowell hasn't been charged in the alleged rape. Prosecutors say they won't introduce the latest DNA evidence in Sowell's murder case if it would mean a trial delay. Sowell has pleaded not guilty to killing the women and dumping their bodies around his house and yard. New York Judge blocks award to man cleared of rape NEW YORK (AP) -- A federal judge has set aside an $18.5 million jury award to a New York City man who was exonerated after spending more than two decades in prison. The New York Times says the judge ruled Thursday that Alan Newton had not proved that any city employees had deliberately withheld evidence or disregarded his right to due process. Newton was cleared by DNA evidence in 2006. He had been sentenced in 1985 to up to 40 years in prison after being convicted of raping a woman in an abandoned building. In awarding the money, the jury ruled last year that the city had violated his constitutional rights. Newton's lawyer did not immediately return a call seeking comment. Indiana Court: No right to resist unlawful police entry INDIANAPOLIS (AP) -- The Indiana Supreme Court says residents have no right to resist if police officers illegally enter their home. The 3-2 ruling holds that allowing citizens to resist runs the risk of escalating violence. If officers enter a home illegally, the justices say the courts are the proper place to protest it. The decision overturns centuries of common law. But two justices disagreed, saying Thursday's ruling runs afoul of the U.S. Constitution's Fourth Amendment against unreasonable search and seizure. They say the decision is too broad. The Times of Munster reports the ruling stemmed from a Vanderburgh County case in which a man yelled at officers and blocked them from entering his home to investigate a reported domestic disturbance. The man shoved an officer and was shocked with a stun gun. California 'Tax Lady' Roni Deutch quits amid allegations SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) -- Self-described 'Tax Lady' Roni Deutch says she's closing her California law firm of 20 years and surrendering her law license amid allegations of wrongdoing that she denies. Deutch gained a measure of fame nationally on late-night television commercials. The Sacramento Bee reports her firm is about $10 million in debt and she's personally $5 million in the hole. Deutch ran into legal problems last year when then-Attorney General Jerry Brown sued her on grounds she cheated clients out of $34 million. A Sacramento judge froze her assets for destroying millions of pages of documents and failing to pay about $435,000 in refunds. Deutch faces hundreds of counts of contempt and possible jail time. A hearing on the contempt of court allegations is scheduled for July 22. Oklahoma Ex-Fort Gibson town attorney faces forgery charge FORT GIBSON, Okla. (AP) -- A former attorney for the town of Fort Gibson has been charged with forging the name of a Tulsa County judge in an effort to avoid having his wages garnished. Don Lewis is accused of forging Tulsa County Special District Judge Charles Hogshead's name on a legal document to prevent a court-ordered garnishment of Lewis' pay from Fort Gibson. An Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation agent said Lewis was trying to avoid payment of a personal debt to a Tulsa radio station. Defense attorney Chad Richardson told the Muskogee Phoenix that the OSBI agent was being "overzealous" in her investigation. New Jersey County jail offers inmates online visits CAPE MAY COURT HOUSE, N.J. (AP) -- Family and friends no longer have to make a trip to visit inmates in a New Jersey jail. The Cape May County Jail says it's the first in the nation to buy an inmate Internet video visitation system. Inmates are allowed up to three online visits a day. Families create accounts and pay a contracted service provider $10 for each 20-minute session. The county will receive 46 percent of the company's proceeds. Sheriff Gary Schaffer tells The Press of Atlantic City the system allows inmates to see more than two visitors per visit and children aren't exposed to the jail. The New Jersey chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union told the newspaper video visitation makes a poor substitute for in-person visits. Louisiana Man convicted in 1989 rape case LAFAYETTE, La. (AP) -- A jury in Lafayette has convicted a man of raping an 18-year-old girl over 20 years ago. Charles Paul Celestine faces a mandatory life prison sentence after being found guilty Thursday of aggravated rape. The victim was attacked while walking to her home on Aug. 29, 1989. Celestine was not charged until 2006 when a crime lab matched his DNA profile with DNA taken from the victim during a medical examination. The victim had been with friends at a common Lafayette hangout for young people, but left after arguing with her boyfriend, said prosecutor Keith Stutes. The girl was almost home in the early morning house, when her attacker tackled her, threw her to the ground and began to choke her, threatening to kill her if she screamed, Stutes said. The girl then went home and police were called. August Washington, a Lafayette police officer at the time and now the police chief of the Vanderbilt University campus in Nashville, Tenn., testified Wednesday that the call was "the darkest day of his police career." Washington had seen the victim about half an hour earlier while she was walking home, and he had asked her if she needed help. The victim told him she was fine and that she was almost home. "I think justice was done," Stutes told The Advocate after the verdict. "It was long overdue." Celestine will be sentenced later. Published: Mon, May 16, 2011