National Round Up

South Dakota: Man may have been slain over a woman at a party
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) — A man found dead in a burning car in Sioux Falls might have been beaten to death with a beer bottle and bar stool after a dispute over a woman, court records show.

Police arrested 31-year-old Curtis Weddell of Wagner on a second-degree murder charge in the death of Rafael Morales, 28. Two Sioux Falls women — Stephanie Vargas, 34, and Morgan Black Eagle, 19 — are accused of failing to report the killing.

A passer-by reported the car engulfed in flames about 4 a.m. Saturday. Morales’ body was found inside after the fire was put out. He was naked from the waist down and his hands had been tied behind his back.

Court documents show that police used the vehicle registration to find Morales’ address. At his home they discovered a broken, bloodstained bar stool and a broken beer bottle.

Court records say the three suspects and Morales had been partying at the home. The documents say Weddell told Vargas that he had hit Morales three times on the head with a beer bottle Friday evening because Morales had made sexual advances toward Black Eagle.

The affidavit says Weddell put Morales’ body in the car, drove it to another area and set it alight.

Morales’ death is the fifth recorded homicide of the year in Sioux Falls, putting the city on pace for its most deadly year since 2006, when seven homicides were recorded.

California: State court hears case on student drug tests
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — A state appeals court in Sacramento has expressed skepticism about requiring high school students to take random drug tests.

A panel of the 3rd District Court of Appeal heard arguments Monday on a Shasta Union High School District program that a lower court judge ordered halted last year.

The district has had mandatory random drug tests for student athletes since 1999 but two years ago it extended that program to non-athletes who participate in competitive activities such as math club or band.

Opponents say the expanded program violates the state constitutional right to privacy.

On Monday, the appellate justices grilled the district’s lawyer about evidence of drug use among, say, chess club users.

Arkansas: Fed. judge delays Mitsubishi suit against GE Corp.
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) — A federal judge in Arkansas is delaying an antitrust lawsuit by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries against General Electric Corp.

Judge Leon Holmes on Monday granted GE’s motion to stay until a patent-infringement lawsuit by GE against Mitsubishi is resolved.

Mitsubishi accuses GE of monopolizing part of the wind-turbine market and making “baseless” patent-infringement claims to gain a competitive edge. Mitsubishi says GE’s conduct jeopardizes its plans for a $100 million wind turbine plant in Fort Smith.

GE has called the claims “meritless and outrageous” and accuses Mitsubishi of violating patents.

Holmes agreed with GE’s claim that if it wins the patent-infringement case against Mitsubishi — then the antitrust case will be moot.

Mississippi: Trial of accused killer of white supremacist set
Vincent McGee has been charged with capital murder and arson in the death of 67-year-old Richard Barrett, who was found beaten, stabbed 16 times and burned inside his home on April 22.
McGee has been held without bond since his arrest.

Barrett was founder of a group called the Nationalist Movement, which he ran from an office in the town of Learned. He also ran a school for skinheads.

Authorities say McGee admitted he burned the body inside Barrett’s Pearl-area home to conceal the crime. Three others have been charged as accessories after the fact.

Rhode Island: Man pleads not guilty in drag-racing death
PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) — A Pawtucket man has pleaded innocent to charges that he participated in a high-speed street race that left another man dead.

Boris Rendon pleaded not guilty in district court on Monday to leaving the scene of an accident resulting in death; driving to endanger resulting in death; street racing; and reckless driving. Bail was set at $20,000.

Police say the 21-year-old Rendon and Matthew Pina reached speeds of more than 100 miles per hour as they raced along Interstate 95 in Providence early Friday morning. Authorities say Pina lost control of his vehicle and crashed. He was pronounced dead at the scene. Two passengers were injured.

New Jersey: Woman charged in slaying of ex-husband
FREEHOLD, N.J. (AP) — Authorities have charged a teacher in New Jersey with murder in the death of her ex-husband whose body was found in the trunk of a burning car.

Kathleen Dorsett is held in the Monmouth County jail on $1.5 million bail.

Prosecutors say the 36-year-old teacher and Stephen Moore were married in 2007 and divorced in 2010.

Authorities say Moore was last seen dropping off the couple’s 20-month-old daughter at Dorsett’s home on Aug. 16.

The 42-year-old’s body was found in the trunk of his mother’s burned car in Long Branch on Aug. 18. Officials have not said how he died.

Prosecutors believe other people are involved in Dorsett’s slaying.

California: High-speed train route lawsuit will not proceed
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — A California judge has ruled that two affluent enclaves south of San Francisco may not pursue a lawsuit over the state's planned high-speed rail route.

Sacramento Superior Court Judge Michael Kenny on Monday affirmed his preliminary ruling from last week against reopening the lawsuit by Menlo Park and Atherton.

The two cities claim that ridership estimates by the California High-Speed Rail Authority overstate the number of passengers who would use the trains in their vicinity.

The proposed rail system would enable passengers to speed the 430 miles between Los Angeles and San Francisco in under 3 hours.

Menlo Park and Atherton officials have proposed an alternate route that runs east of the San Francisco Bay.