Court Digest

Maryland
Man linked to white supremacist group to plead guilty Tuesday
COLLEGE PARK, Md. (AP) — A Maryland man who is scheduled to plead guilty Tuesday in a case stemming from his alleged membership in a white supremacist group wants a federal judge to immediately sentence him at the hearing, a court filing shows.

William Bilbrough IV agreed to a specific term of imprisonment as part of his plea deal, a federal prosecutor said in a court filing Thursday. The filing does not specify a charge to which Bilbrough will plead guilty or the length of the prison term he would serve if U.S. District Judge Theodore Chuang accepts the plea agreement’s terms.

FBI agents arrested Bilbrough and two other men in January as part of a broader investigation of a group called The Base. U.S. Army veteran Brian Mark Lemley Jr., of Elkton, Maryland, and Patrik Mathews, a former Canadian Armed Forces reservist, have pleaded not guilty to charges including transporting a firearm and ammunition with the intent to commit a felony.

Bilbrough was 19 and living with his grandmother in Denton, Maryland, at the time of his arrest. He was charged with conspiracy to transport and harbor Mathews, who is accused of illegally entering the U.S. from Canada.

Authorities said the three men were members of The Base and that the group’s goal was to accelerate the overthrow of the U.S. government and replace it with a white supremacist regime.
Authorities in Georgia and Wisconsin arrested four other men linked to The Base early this year.

Lemley and Mathews discussed “the planning of violence” at a gun rights rally in Richmond, Virginia, in January, according to prosecutors.

Bilbrough was not charged with any firearms-related offenses. A prosecutor has said Bilbrough participated in early discussions about traveling to Richmond but had tried to distance himself from the group shortly before his arrest.

Lemley and Mathews also face separate but related federal charges in Delaware, where they shared a home. A closed-circuit television camera and microphone investigators installed in the home captured Lemley talking about using a thermal imaging scope affixed to his rifle to ambush unsuspecting civilians and police officers, prosecutors said.

“I need to claim my first victim,” Lemley said last December, according to prosecutors.

Mathews talked about the Virginia rally as a “boundless” opportunity.

Mathews also videotaped himself advocating for killing people, poisoning water supplies and derailing trains, a prosecutor wrote in a court filing.

Defense attorneys have urged the judge to suppress all evidence captured by the surveillance equipment installed in the Delaware home.

“Such shocking incursions of personal privacy cannot be the penalty for exercising one’s First Amendment right to free speech no matter how odious that speech may be,” Mathews’ attorney, Joseph Balter, wrote in an Aug. 31 court filing.

Prosecutors countered that the First Amendment “has nothing to do with this case.”

“Speech and written words can prove intent and rationale behind criminal plans,” they wrote.

Iowa
Man who burned LGBTQ flag sentenced to time served
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — An Iowa man convicted of a hate crime for tearing down and burning an LGBTQ flag hanging outside a Des Moines bar has been sentenced to time served.

Daniel Rosemark was sentenced last month to the 361 days he had already served while being held on charges in the case, the Des Moines Register reported. Rosemark pleaded guilty in October to reckless use of fire or explosives as a hate crime and drug possession. A criminal mischief charge was dropped in exchange for his plea.

Police said that in November 2019, Rosemark torn down a rainbow pride flag that had been outside The Blazing Saddle in the East Village. Rosemark told officers he did it because he was angry that the gay community had adopted adopted the rainbow as a symbol of pride.

The case was put on hold in January after Rosemark was found incompetent to stand trial, and resumed in October after he received treatment in a state facility.

South Dakota
Judge wants remote hearings after guns allowed in courthouse
CUSTER, S.D. (AP) — The presiding judge of the 7th Judicial Circuit has written a proposed order saying judges won’t appear in Custer County court after commissioners approved a measure allowing guns inside the courthouse.

County commissioners adopted the ordinance to allow firearms despite opposition from presiding Judge Craig Pfeifle and Judge Matt Brown and a state’s attorney’s opinion that it would be a safety risk, a legal liability and a financial burden.

Pfeifle said he’s sent the proposed order to the South Dakota Supreme Court, which will review it for approval or rejection in January, the Rapid City Journal reported.

The proposed order says Custer County hearings will be overseen by a judge appearing remotely through audio or video feeds or take place at the Pennington County Courthouse in Rapid City.
It’s unclear if lawyers and the public can take advantage of the video and audio feeds if they are concerned for their safety.

Custer County won’t have to worry about jury trials for now since COVID-19 has paused the proceedings across the 7th Circuit, which includes Custer, Pennington, Fall River and Oglala Lakota counties. That order expires Dec. 31.

Virginia
Ex-CEO pleads guilty to $18M  stock fraud
ALEXANDRIA, Va. (AP) — The former CEO of a northern Virginia tech startup has pleaded guilty to duping investors out of more than $18 million by lying about the company’s financial performance.

Daniel Boice, 41, of Alexandria pleaded guilty Thursday in U.S. District Court in Alexandria to stock fraud and wire fraud.

He raised more than $18 million from more than 90 different investors for a company called Turstify that was supposed to connect consumers with private investigators. One investor contributed nearly $2 million. But Boice admitted he used at least $3.7 million of the money for personal expenses, including private jet travel and furnishing a seaside vacation home.

The Securities and Exchange Commission has also filed a civil complaint against Boice and his wife at the time, Jennifer Mellon, who served as a vice president of Trustify.

Boice, who also had a residence in Fernandina Beach, florida, willbe sentenced in March.

Oregon
Ex-OSU employee says he was fired for taking parental leave
EUGENE, Ore. (AP) — A former Oregon State University employee has filed a lawsuit saying he was fired because he took parental leave.

Joseph McQuillin was assistant director of facilities maintenance and custodial manager in the university’s department of recreational sports when his wife gave birth to premature twins in 2017, Oregon Public Broadcasting reported.

According to the lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court in Eugene Wednesday, his wife and twins required extended medical care so McQuillin filed for protected medical leave followed by sick child leave, which OSU approved.

According to the lawsuit, McQuillin communicated about it with his direct supervisor, associate director Bill Callender. In January 2019, McQuillin returned to work. According to the lawsuit, Callender told McQuillin that his medical leave had “left people in the lurch.”

Callender also told McQuillin that Leah Dorothy, the director of recreational sports, was stripping him of his supervisory duties and removing him from the team of directors. The court documents state this appeared to be in retaliation for McQuillin’s taking family leave.

The lawsuit also alleges an aspect of gender discrimination, arguing McQuillin was treated differently as a father taking medical leave.

In June 2019, Callender told McQuillin that Dorothy was discharging him. The lawsuit says McQuillin was wrongfully terminated, asks for economic damages and a jury trial.

“We are aware of this lawsuit and fully dispute its allegations,” Steve Clark, OSU Vice President of University Relations and Marketing, told OPB. “OSU takes seriously its commitment to non-discrimination and applies its leave policies and practices equitably for all genders.”

Clark said OSU adheres to the federal Family Medical Leave Act, Oregon family leave law and other university and union policies. The university adheres to laws that prohibit retaliation against an employee because of family medical leave, he said.


Alaska
Fatal shooting suspect accused of assaulting family, jail guard
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — The teen accused of killing four of his family members was previously charged with assaulting other close relatives, and now faces another charge of assaulting a jail guard.

Malachi Maxon, 18, was charged with four counts of first-degree murder in the shooting deaths early Monday of his aunt and three cousins aged 18, 10 and 7.

At the time of the shootings, Maxon faced other charges involving alleged assaults on relatives including his mother and stepfather, court documents said.

Maxon is expected to be charged with fourth-degree assault after authorities say he attacked a corrections officer at a pretrial facility in Palmer on Wednesday, authorities said.

Maxon did not immediately enter a plea on the murder charges. An arraignment was delayed after he refused to participate Wednesday and the hearing was rescheduled for Thursday.

An email sent Thursday to the Public Defender Agency in Palmer, which is listed as Maxon’s legal representative, was not immediately returned.

Maxon is accused of first shooting his cousin, 18-year-old Cody Roehl, at a home near Wasilla and stealing a vehicle and a semiautomatic Glock pistol, charging documents said. Roehl was pronounced dead at a nearby hospital.

Maxon then broke into a home in nearby Palmer through a basement window and shot his aunt and two younger cousins, charging documents said.

Police found 43-year-old Kimora Buster dead on the floor. They also found 7-year-old Ellison Buster dead in his bed and 10-year-old Sienna Buster injured in her bed. Sienna later died at a hospital, authorities said.

A 6-year-old, only identified as AB, was found uninjured in the bed with Ellison, charging documents said.

On Wednesday, a corrections officer was recovering from minor injuries after Maxon assaulted the guard when a cell door was opened to deliver a food tray, Alaska State Troopers said.

In July, Maxon was charged with domestic violence assault and interfering with a report of a domestic-violence crime after allegedly attacking his mother at her home in Wasilla, court documents said.

Maxon was charged in October with criminal mischief, domestic violence assault and violating conditions of release for an alleged attack on his stepfather. He was released from custody about three weeks later on $200 bail and ordered to wear an ankle monitor.

Authorities charged Maxon in November with two counts of misdemeanor domestic-violence assault and criminal mischief stemming from a confrontation with his uncle at his grandmother’s home.
None of the domestic violence assault charges have gone to trial.

Maxon was released from custody Nov. 23, a week before the homicides, on $500 cash bail and a $2,500 unsecured bond.


Massachusetts
Court overturns man’s conviction in killing of psychiatric patient
WORCESTER, Mass. (AP) — A Massachusetts man whose conviction in the killing a fellow patient in a hospital psychiatric ward was overturned by the state’s highest court will remain in custody while he awaits his new trial.

Aldo Dunphe, of Spencer, was held without bail at a court appearance Thursday, The Telegram & Gazette reported. His attorney, Michael Hussey, reserved the right to request a bail hearing in the future.

Dunphe was granted a new trial by the Supreme Judicial Court, which determined that a problem involving jury instructions created the possibility of a miscarriage of justice.

Dunphe was convicted in 2016 of beating and strangling Ratna Bhattarai in the psychiatric unit at UMass Memorial Medical Center in November 2013. Bhattarai died two days later.

His was convicted of first-degree murder by a Worcester Superior Court jury that rejected his insanity defense.

Dunphe’s lawyers said their client was suffering from schizophrenia at the time of the fatal attack and lacked criminal responsibility for his actions.