National Roundup

Ohio
Dad who took boy from mom for years seeks prison release
CLEVELAND (AP) — A man imprisoned in Ohio for abducting his then-5-year-old son from the boy’s mother in Alabama in 2002 and settling in Cleveland using new identities is seeking early release.

Bobby Hernandez took responsibility for his actions, has served about a year behind bars and should be freed, possibly under some other form of court supervision, defense attorney Ralph DeFranco said in a filing asking a judge to consider judicial release for the 54-year-old Hernandez.

He was sentenced in April to four years in prison after pleading guilty to kidnapping and other charges. His teenage son, Julian, said then that Hernandez had given him everything he needed and he forgives his dad.

Hernandez acknowledges taking the boy from the Birmingham area and keeping the child from his mother for over a decade but provided a stable life in which his son thrived as an honors student in school and in other activities, DeFranco wrote in the filing last month, which was first reported by WJW-TV.

Hernandez, a U.S. Navy veteran with no significant criminal history, wants to return to his family and is willing to remain under whatever alternative supervision the court might deem appropriate, DeFranco said.

Hernandez’s deceptions came to light in 2015, when Julian discovered a discrepancy with his Social Security number while starting the college application process. Julian said he had been told his mother and father had broken up and he knew she lived somewhere else.

In a statement read at Hernandez’s sentencing by an attorney, Julian’s mother said not knowing where Julian was or whether he was safe had a physical and emotional toll.

DeFranco indicated those effects aren’t lost on Hernandez.

“Clearly the defendant understands and appreciates the gravity of this case and understands that he denied the child’s mother access to him for many years,” DeFranco said in the filing.

The Cuyahoga County prosecutor who handled the case, Tim McGinty, had cited that loss of relationship in pushing for a lengthy sentence for Hernandez.


Georgia
Man convicted of killing son in hot car to file appeal
ATLANTA (AP) — Lawyers for a Georgia man have begun their appeal of his conviction in the death of his young son, who died in a hot car in suburban Atlanta.

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports that lawyers for Justin Ross Harris filed a motion this week for a new trial, the first step in what’s likely to be a lengthy appeals process.

In the court documents, defense lawyers say prejudicial testimony allowed by the court made the prospect of a fair trial an “absolute impossibility.”

Jurors in November found the 36-year-old Harris guilty of murder after his son, 22-month-old Cooper, died in the back of an SUV in June 2014, as temperatures climbed into the high 80s.

Harris moved from Tusca­loosa, Alabama, to Georgia to work at Home Depot’s corporate office in Cobb County, Georgia.

New York
Woman charged with stealing $1M from employer
ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. (AP) — Authorities say a western New York woman has been charged with stealing more than $1 million from the auto dealership where she worked.

Police in the Buffalo suburb of Orchard Park say 55-year-old Billie Becker of East Aurora is accused of embezzling the funds from Town Automotive, where she had worked since 2001, the last eight years as controller.

Officials say she had been stealing company funds since at least 2012.

Investigators say the business discovered the thefts after a credit card company called to inquire about a credit card it wasn’t aware of. Police say they believe Becker was using the credit card to pay personal accounts.

Becker was charged with grand larceny and released after posting $10,000 bail.

Florida
Woman awaiting third trial wants more freedom
BOYTON BEACH, Fla. (AP) — A Florida woman wants more freedom as she awaits a third trial on a 2009 murder-for-hire charge, following a mistrial last month.

The Sun-Sentinel reports Dalia Dippolito’s attorneys asked a judge this week that she be removed from house arrest.

Arguing this week that the 34-year-old Dippolito is “neither a danger to the community nor a flight risk,” the defense is asking Circuit Judge Glenn Kelley to end Dippolito’s 24-hour curfew, confinement at her mother’s house and constant tracking by law enforcement.

But ex-husband Michael Dippolito wants her to be kept under close watch since she is accused of trying to have him killed by a hit man, who turned out to be an undercover Boynton Beach police officer.

The case gained national attention after millions saw videos of her trying to hire the hit man on the television show “Cops” and online.

Florida
Man facing sex charges involving exchange student
ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — An Orlando, Florida, man is facing charges after being accused of forcing an exchange student to have sex with him multiple times while she was living with him.

WFTV-TV reports that 28-year-old Joshua Perez faced a judge Tuesday on charges of sexual battery and exposure of sexual organs.

Investigators say the incidents happened at the Valencia Forest Apartments, where the victim lived with Perez and his girlfriend.

An arrest report says Perez, who was the victim’s host dad, forced the Vietnamese exchange student into sexual encounters about 13 times over the past three months.

Arrest documents also show that a second exchange student living with Perez told investigators the suspect exposed himself to her as she cooked him food.

South Carolina
Teacher in nude photo case drops lawsuit against school district
SPARTANBURG, S.C. (AP) — A South Carolina teacher who resigned after a student spread nude pictures of her through text messages and social media has dropped her lawsuit against her former employer.

Multiple news agencies report that online court records show Leigh Anne Arthur dismissed the suit against the Union County School District on Dec. 2.

Arthur had sued both the district and former interim Superintendent David Eubanks earlier last year, saying she wanted her dignity back after being forced to quit.

Arthur had told The Associated Press she had been struggling emotionally since a student went through her cellphone and found photos taken as a Valentine’s Day gift to her husband. The student was charged with a computer crime and voyeurism.