National Roundup

Virginia
Man charged in woman’s killing is convicted rapist
PRINCE GEORGE, Va. (AP) — A man charged in the killing of a missing Virginia woman was convicted of abducting and raping a 14-year-old girl in 2007, court records showed.

Benjamin Franklin Chiarky, 31, was charged Thursday with second-degree murder in the death of Corrine Lee Huddleston. The 20-year-old was last seen the first week of October leaving a Prince George home where she frequently stayed, Prince George County Police have said.

Last week, investigators located human remains in a wooded area in Surry County near where Chiarky lived. The state medical examiner’s office was continuing to work with police to identify the remains and determine a cause of death, but officials said they were believed to belong to Huddleston.

Police Chief Keith Early said last week that Chiarky and Huddleston “were familiar with each other,” but did not comment further, The Richmond Times-Dispatch reported. It was not immediately clear what motivated the killing.

More than 10 years before, Chiarky was sentenced to 25 years in prison with 17 years suspended for raping an underage girl at her friend’s house when he was 18, the newspaper said.

He pleaded not guilty in 2008 trial but was convicted. Chiarky was supposed to serve eight years but was released after about six for good behavior, according to court documents.

He was arraigned Friday in Surry General District Court on the murder charge in Huddleston’s case. He was also charged with a felony drug charge and failure to comply with terms and conditions of probation. Chiarky was in jail without bond as of last Thursday. A preliminary hearing was set for Jan. 11.

It was not immediately clear whether he had an attorney who could comment on his behalf.

New York
NRA pays $2.5M after NY probe into ‘dangerous’ insurance
ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — The National Rifle Association is banned from marketing insurance in New York for five years and will pay $2.5 million to settle an investigation into “dangerous” policies promoted to gun owners as a way to cover costs in self-defense shootings, state financial regulators said Wednesday.

The New York State Department of Financial Services announced the consent order with the powerful gun advocacy group after a three-year investigation. State regulators said the NRA violated insurance laws and regulations by acting as an insurance producer without a license by taking part in efforts to solicit and market insurance products, including the NRA’s Carry Guard program.

Carry Guard insurance was launched in 2017 and was promoted to gun-owners as needed coverage to help cover civil and criminal legal costs in the case they shot someone in self-defense. Gun-control advocates called it “murder insurance” in the belief it would encourage gun owners to shoot rather than avoid confrontations.

“The NRA violated the New York insurance law by soliciting dangerous and impermissible insurance products, including those within its Carry Guard program that purported to insure intentional acts and criminal defense costs,” department superintendent Linda Lacewell said in a prepared statement.

The NRA is banned from marketing insurance in New York or receiving compensation in connection with any newly issued New York insurance policies for five years, even if the NRA obtains a license, under the order.

A call was made to the NRA seeking comment.

From 2000 to 2018, the NRA worked with the Lockton Affinity Series of Lockton Affinity, LLC to offer insurance products to NRA members, their families and affiliated businesses in New York. The NRA received “substantial” compensation, including royalties based on insurance premiums. That means the NRA acted as an insurance producer under New York law, requiring the organization to be licensed, according to the DFS.

More than 28,000 NRA-endorsed policies were placed in New York through Lockton over those 18 years. Between April and mid-November 2017, Carry Guard was marketed and sold throughout the United States, with about 680 policies issued to New York residents.

Separately, New York’s Attorney General Letitia James in August sued the NRA, seeking to put the organization out of business over claims that top executives illegally diverted tens of millions of dollars for lavish personal trips, no-show contracts for associates and other questionable expenditures.

California
Man not contesting extradition to in 1969 slaying
A 75-year-old eastern Pennsylvania man will not contest extradition to California to face charges in the 1969 rape and murder of a young mother.

Defense attorney John Waldron said he spoke to John Sipos in preparation for Wednesday’s hearing in Lehigh County and determined that his client was clear-headed-enough to understand the court proceedings.

The (Allentown) Morning Call reports that Waldron said Sipos denies killing 24-year-old Mary Scott, a go-go dancer who was found strangled in her San Diego apartment on Nov. 20, 1969.

“He has no memory of him committing a homicide,” Waldron said, noting that Sipos was honorably discharged after serving in the Navy in California from 1963 to 1969. “He doesn’t really recall much about that time, but a crime like that is something he would have remembered.”

Sipos was arrested Oct. 24 at his home in Schnecksville, near Allentown. San Diego police said DNA evidence and forensic genealogy led to the arrest. Waldron said extradition may take several weeks due to pandemic travel restrictions. He has said his client has diabetes and has had three heart attacks.


North Dakota
Fired Mandan police officer charged with three sex crimes
MANDAN, N.D. (AP) — A former Mandan police officer has been charged with three sex crimes, according to court records posted Wednesday.

Scott Warzecha is charged in Morton County with one count of use of a minor in a sexual performance and two counts of surreptitious intrusion. Court documents do not list an attorney for Warzecha.

Deputy Chief Lori Flaten said Wednesday that Warzecha was fired after an internal investigation. Warzecha was placed on administrative leave earlier this week.

Warzecha was a 13-year police veteran and the handler of the Mandan department’s first K-9, Kupper. The dog joined the department in August 2019, The Bismarck Tribune reported.