National Roundup

South Carolina
Judge says forfeiture law unconstitutional
CONWAY, S.C. (AP) — A South Carolina judge has declared the state’s forfeiture law that allows money or other items to be taken without a conviction violates the state and federal constitutions.

News outlets report the decision by Horry County Judge Steven H. John could set the table for a state appellate court to determine whether South Carolina needs to rewrite its civil asset forfeiture law.

The state allows police to seize cash, cars and other possessions from people suspected of drug dealing, regardless of whether they’ve been convicted of a crime or charged with one.

An investigation by The Green­ville News found law enforcement seized $17 million across South Carolina from 2014 to 2016. Nearly 20% of more than 4,000 people who saw money or items seized were never charged with a crime.

Pennsylvania
DNA, genealogy research lead to teenager’s arrest
NORRISTOWN, Pa. (AP) — Authorities say they used DNA testing and genealogy research to arrest a teenager in the gunpoint sexual assault of a woman in a suburban Philadelphia park.

Nineteen-year-old Mason Alexander Hall is being held on $1 million cash bail in the August 2017 attack at Norristown Farm Park.

Montgomery County District Attorney Kevin Steele says genetic testing of the DNA helped produce a sketch and showed the suspect had half European and half African ancestry and was about 25 years old.

Steele says that genealogy research led police to identify two people, one of whom was ruled out by the 19-year-old victim.

He says Hall was arrested Friday after the DNA sample was compared to blood found on a hammer still in evidence from his 2017 arrest for allegedly busting a car headlight.

Ohio
Police: Man says he took ambulance to escape torture
LEBANON, Ohio (AP) — Police in Ohio say a man accused of stealing an ambulance from a fire department told them he escaped in it after being held against his will and tortured for days at a nearby residence.

Clearcreek Township police say the ambulance was taken from a township fire station Saturday and found Sunday at a Dayton hospital where a 22-year-old Cincinnati man was being treated for injuries. A police release says the Cincinnati man said he had been “held against his will” at a residence across from the fire station and escaped in the ambulance.

Police say 38-year-old Chris­topher Edwards, who lived at the residence where the man said he was held, was arrested on felonious assault and kidnapping charges.

Warren County court records don’t show an attorney for Edwards.

New Mexico
Proposal in owl case allows for cutting of U.S. Capitol tree
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — It will be up to a federal judge whether to sign off on a proposed order that would clear the way for a tree to be cut and displayed outside the U.S. Capitol building over the holidays.

The proposal the result of an agreement reached Monday between environmentalists and the U.S. Forest Service in a case centered on the threatened Mexican spotted owl.

The plan allows personal Christmas tree-cutting permits, prescribed fires with stipulations and commercial firewood gathering in certain areas.

It’s unclear when the judge might rule.

A September order drew criticism for imposing a tree-cutting ban that spanned five national forests in New Mexico and one in Arizona.

The judge later narrowed the order to allow personal firewood permits, but other timber management activities remain sidelined.

California
Man sentenced for hacking LA court system
LOS ANGELES (AP) — A man who hacked Los Angeles County court computers, sent 2 million malicious phishing emails and stole hundreds of credit card numbers has been sentenced in Los Angeles.

Oriyomi Aloba received a 12-year federal prison sentence Monday.

Authorities say the 33-year-old Katy, Texas, resident hacked the Superior Court computer system in 2017, compromised one worker’s email account and used it to send out phishing emails that obtained email addresses and passwords from hundreds of other workers.

Their accounts were then used to send out 2 million emails pretending to be from American Express, Wells Fargo and other companies to obtain banking and credit card information.

Prosecutors say Aloba’s hacking substantially disrupted the court system at a cost of tens of thousands of dollars.

Wyoming
Teen accused of killing girl waives speedy trial
STURGIS, S.D. (AP) — A South Dakota teenager charged with fatally shooting a girl from Wyoming has waived his right to a speedy trial.

The Argus Leader says the waiver means the 17-year-old defendant gave up his right to have his case brought to trial in 180 days from his arraignment as specified under South Dakota law.

The teen has pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity in the shooting death of 16-year-old Shayna Ritthaler of Upton, Wyoming, whose body was found Oct. 7 in the basement of his home near Sturgis. The Associated
Press isn’t naming the defendant because his lawyer is trying to get the case moved to juvenile court.

Ritthaler had been listed as a runaway Oct. 3. Authorities are still investigating how Ritthaler and Campbell knew each other.

Ohio
Judge issues insanity ruling against man accused of arson
DAYTON, Ohio (AP) — An Ohio man accused of starting a fire that killed his mother and injured his brother has been found not guilty by reason of insanity.

A judge in Dayton made the decision Monday, ruling that 25-year-old James Dennis will remain at a mental health facility.

A prosecutor said that judge’s verdict was fair. She also said that Dennis would be in the mental health system for the rest of his life.

Dennis was charged with murder and aggravated arson after the fire in Dayton in February 2018.

Firefighters said they found him standing outside the home when they arrived and that his brother was trapped on the roof and his mother was trapped inside the home.