National Roundup

Ohio
Grandparents, parents indicted in newborn death
DEFIANCE, Ohio (AP) — Authorities say the Ohio parents and paternal grandparents of a newborn whose body was placed in a plastic tub after his death have been indicted.

The Defiance Crescent-News reports 33-year-old Jared Stark is charged with involuntary manslaughter, child endangering and gross abuse of a corpse. Thirty-five-year-old Sarah Stark is charged with child endangering and gross abuse of a corpse.

Fifty-eight-year-old Steven Stark and 56-year-old Sheryl Stark have been charged with gross abuse of a corpse.

The prosecutor in western Ohio’s Defiance County says the baby was born at his parents’ home in October 2016 and died 10 hours later. Prosecutor Morris Murray says the infant’s body was placed in a plastic container stored in another building on the property.

Court records don’t indicate whether the four have attorneys.

New Jersey
Woman allegedly helped smuggle $2M in aircraft parts to Iran
NEWARK, N.J. (AP) — Federal prosecutors say a New Jersey woman was involved in an international ring that smuggled more than $2 million worth of aircraft parts from the United States to Iran.

Joyce Eliabachus was arrested Tuesday at her Morristown home and made her initial court appearance Wednesday, when the arrest was made public. She was released on $100,000 bond with home confinement.

The 55-year-old Eliabachus faces three conspiracy counts. Her public defender couldn’t be reached for comment.

Prosecutors say Eliabachus was principal officer and operator of a purported aviation parts trading business she ran from her home.

She allegedly worked through a sophisticated network that secretly acquired large quantities of aircraft components from U.S. companies and exported them to Iran through freight-forwarding companies in the United Arab Emirates and Turkey.

Texas
Man sentenced to life in stomping death of toddler
FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) — A Texas man convicted of beating and stomping his girlfriend’s baby daughter to death then burying her body has been sentenced to life in prison.

A Tarrant County jury sentenced 24-year-old Joshua Beard of Arlington on Monday. Beard was convicted of murder on Saturday in the 2014 death of 18-month-old Tylea Moore.

Prosecutors say Tylea died of blunt force trauma at the home Beard shared with the girl’s mother, Alexis Botello. They say an angry Beard at one point threw the child onto a bed with such force that she bounced off and landed on the floor, where he stomped on her.

Authorities say Tylea was buried underneath a rural bridge northwest of Fort Worth.

Botello awaits trial on charges that include capital murder.

Kentucky
Jury awards $67M to ex-miners who used defective dust masks
HINDMAN, Ky. (AP) — Two former coal miners in Kentucky who claimed defective dust masks led to their debilitating black-lung disease were awarded $67.5 million in damages in a civil lawsuit.

The Lexington Herald-Leader reported Wednesday that a Knott County jury awarded $62.5 million in punitive damages against the mask maker, 3M Co. The remaining amount is to compensate brothers Leslie and Michael Cox for past and future pain and suffering.

The verdict form says the 3M respirator was defective and unreasonably dangerous.

3M spokeswoman Lori Anderson says the company plans to appeal. An attorney for the brothers declined to comment.

Federal officials said black lung has caused roughly 78,000 deaths since the late 1960s and there has been a resurgence of it in recent years, especially in eastern Kentucky.

Iowa
Man accused of killing mother with guitar ruled competent
BURLINGTON, Iowa (AP) — A judge says an Iowa man is competent to stand trial on allegations that he used an electric guitar to beat his mother to death.

Des Moines County District Court records say the judge filed the ruling Monday on 29-year-old Garret Selters, who has been undergoing treatment at a state mental health facility in Oakdale since the killing. He initially was ruled incompetent.

Selters, of Burlington, has pleaded not guilty to murder. Prosecutors say he swung the guitar into the head of 56-year-old Linda Selters at her home on Oct. 17.

Defense lawyers say Selters will use an insanity defense at trial, which is allowed under Iowa rules. The trial has yet to be scheduled.

Indiana
Judge orders county to open more early voting sites
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — A federal judge says Indiana’s Marion County must open at least two early voting sites before the November election.

The Indianapolis Star reports U.S. District Court Judge Sarah Evans Barker issued an injunction Wednesday ending what critics have called an effort to suppress voting in the Democratic-leaning county that includes Indianapolis. The additional sites won’t be required for the May primary due to time constraints.

Barker, who was nominated to the federal court by President Ronald Reagan, issued the ruling in response to a lawsuit by the Indianapolis NAACP and Common Cause Indiana. The suit said a lack of locations suppressed voting rights in urban communities with diverse populations.

Marion County’s only early voting site is in downtown Indianapolis. Republicans had cited cost concerns for having only one location.

Ohio
Man accused in terror plot seeks early prison release
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — An Ohio man has unsuccessfully asked a judge to release him from his 22-year prison sentence on a terrorism conviction.

Court records show Abdirahman Sheik Mohamud wrote Judge Michael Watson on April 18 asking to be released to help prevent Muslim youth from becoming radicalized.

Mohamud says he’s learned from his mistakes and has found a purpose in life.

Mohamud pleaded guilty in August 2015 to supporting terrorism and making false statements to authorities. He was accusing of plotting to kill U.S. military personnel in Texas after training with a terrorist organization in Syria.

Watson sentenced Mohamud in January and said in a ruling on Wednesday that he no longer had jurisdiction.

Homeland Security Investigations says it will eventually seek to deport Mohamud.