National Roundup

Florida
University warns of 'sextortion' email scam

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) - Officials at the University of Central Florida say an email "sextortion" scam is targeting university accounts.

The Orlando Sentinel reports the emails claim to have video of users watching "adult sites" and demanding $900 if they don't want the video shared with all of their contacts.

The university tweeted about the email scam on Thursday, asking anyone who has been targeted to report it.

The email involves someone nicknamed "darknet" who claims to have hacked into the computer, copying all the contacts and using a web-cam to record the videos the user has watched.

The email warned the hacker "was most struck by the adult sites you occasionally visit" and says "you have a very wild imagination." It then says $900 is "quite a fair price to destroy the dirt I created."

Indiana
Woman ruled competent for trial in husband's hammer attack

FORT WAYNE, Ind. (AP) - A Fort Wayne woman accused of placing a plastic bag over her husband's head and beating him with a hammer has been ruled competent to stand trial.

An Allen County judge on Thursday ordered 41-year-old Shannon D. Labrosse to stand trial March 12 on attempted murder, domestic battery and strangulation charges. Labrosse's defense attorney says his client will rely on an insanity defense.

The Journal Gazette reports authorities say Labrosse placed a plastic bag over the head of her husband, who has multiple sclerosis, in February 2017 as he sat in a recliner in their living room.

When he tried to get away, she allegedly hit him with a jar and then beat him with a hammer.

Thomas Labrosse suffered broken ribs, cuts to his head and other injuries.

Indiana
Man accused in attack on mother told police he was possessed

FORT WAYNE, Ind. (AP) - Police say a northeastern Indiana man told an officer that he was possessed by demons and Adolf Hitler when he bit, hit, punched and choked his mother.

Fort Wayne police say Joy Steiss died after being taken to a hospital early Wednesday and 34-year-old Jason Steiss is jailed on charges including aggravated battery. Doctors told investigators she'd been strangled and the Allen County coroner was expected to determine cause of death.

The Associated Press sent a message seeking comment from a lawyer listed in court records as representing Steiss. He's due in court Tuesday and charges could be upgraded.

Stephanie Souther, the first responding officer, said in court records that Jason Steiss met her when she approached their home and told her he killed his mother and was possessed.

North Carolina
State high court orders study of ­courtroom ­portraits

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) - The North Carolina Supreme Court has directed a commission to study the portraits hanging inside its courtroom amid a complaint about one of a pro-slavery judge.

The News & Observer reported Thursday that the state's top court formed a commission tasked with making a recommendation by Dec. 31, 2019.

Also on Thursday, the newspaper published an op-ed from UNC-Chapel Hill law professor Eric Muller and former Chapel Hill Councilmember Sally Greene drawing attention to the courtroom's portrait of Thomas Ruffin. Ruffin served on the court from 1829 to 1852.

He's best known for his decision in State v. Mann, in which he overturned the assault conviction of a slaveowner who shot a slave in the back for refusing him.

Ruffin's portrait is the courtroom's largest, hung behind the justices' bench.

Connecticut
Judicial marshal admits he used job to protect drug supplier

BRIDGEPORT, Conn. (AP) - Federal officials say a Connecticut judicial marshal admitted he sold heroin and used his job as a shield to protect a drug supplier.

Officials say 37-year-old Adam Clarke waived his right to be indicted and pleaded guilty to drug charges in federal court in Bridgeport. The Norwich Bulletin reports Clarke had previously worked as a state judicial marshal in the Norwich and New London area.

Police said Clarke received prescription pills from a known drug dealer while he was at work and assisted the drug dealer in avoiding detection by law enforcement. Authorities say he also agreed to broker at least one heroin transaction between the dealer and a third party.

Clarke will be sentenced on Jan. 17, and faces up to 20 years in prison.

Virginia
Landowners ask Supreme Court tohear pipeline case

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) - A group of landowners along the path of the Mountain Valley Pipeline in Virginia and West Virginia is asking the U.S. Supreme Court to hear an appeal in their eminent domain lawsuit against federal regulators and developers.

The plaintiffs filed a petition this week asking the high court to reverse a decision by the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. That court over the summer affirmed the ruling of a lower-court judge who didn't rule on the case's constitutional issues but dismissed them, saying she lacked jurisdiction.

The landowners argue that taking their property for the natural gas pipeline through eminent domain is an unconstitutional land grab.

Work on the approximately $4.6 billion, 300-mile project is underway. Developers plan to have it operating by the end of next year.

Delaware
Law school reject pleads guilty to cyberstalking interviewer

WILMINGTON, Del. (AP) - A former law school applicant has pleaded guilty to cyberstalking an alumnus who interviewed him.

The News Journal reports a federal judge called 28-year-old Ho Ka Terence Yung's harassment and intimidation "a disturbing mix of violence and sexual degradation that actually resulted in complete strangers approaching the victim's home."

A U.S. attorney's office release says Yung's parents live in Wilmington, Delaware, where he met the victim during an admissions process interview for "a top national law school." Prosecutors say Yung performed poorly and was rejected a week later.

Yung embarked on an 18-month cyberstalking campaign, including publishing online ads directing people interested in violent sexual activity to the victim's house.

Yung was arrested in Austin, Texas, in February 2017. He pleaded guilty Tuesday.

Published: Mon, Oct 29, 2018