National Roundup

New York
Judge sets November for start of Ghislaine Maxwell's trial
NEW YORK (AP) — Ghislaine Maxwell's trial will start in November on charges that she recruited teenage girls for financier Jeffrey Epstein to sexually abuse over a 10-year period, a judge said Tuesday.

Jury selection can occur in mid-November and opening statements will happen on Nov. 29, U.S. District Judge Alison J. Nathan wrote in an order.

The order was issued a day after prosecutors told the judge that both sides would be ready for trial in November, though defense lawyers preferred it begin on Nov. 8 while prosecutors wanted it to start on Nov. 29.

Nathan said jury selection can occur the week of Nov. 15.

The judge recently scrapped a July 12 trial date after  defense lawyers complained that sex trafficking charges added in March  left them insufficient time to investigate the new charges and prepare for trial.

Maxwell, 59, has been jailed at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn since last July, when she was arrested at a New Hampshire estate. Nathan has denied bail three times, twice rejecting a $28.5 million proposed package that would have required Maxwell to remain in a New York City dwelling with 24-hour armed guards.

Nathan said she believed Maxwell was a risk to flee despite the U.S. citizen's claims that she was willing to renounce her citizenship in England and France to prove her willingness to appear for trial.

Maxwell has pleaded not guilty to charges that she recruited teenage girls from 1994 to 2004 for Epstein to sexually abuse during encounters that sometimes were described as sexualized massages.

Prosecutors say their case hinges primarily on the testimony of four women who were abused, including two who say they were recruited when they were 14 years old.

Defense lawyers have challenged the charges on numerous grounds, though Nathan has rejected most of them. They have succeeded in severing perjury charges from those alleging sex abuse.

Epstein took his life in August 2019 in a federal Manhattan lockup as he awaited trial on sex trafficking charges.

Massachusetts
Man convicted in bombing has sentence reduced
BOSTON (AP) — A federal judge has reduced the life sentence of a Massachusetts man who was convicted in connection with building a bomb that killed a Boston police officer and severely injured his partner 30 years ago.

Alfred Trenkle recently requested to be released because of fears of contracting COVID-19, the Patriot Ledger reported.

Judge William Smith denied the request; however, in a 53-page ruling, Smith found reason to reduce Trenkle's sentence to 41 years in prison, followed by five years of probation. Smith found that a judge made a mistake in giving Trenkle a life sentence.

"While the Court cannot second guess the jury's verdict, it can, in determining the appropriate sentence, administer justice with a measure of mercy, even for one who is convicted of a heinous crime" Smith wrote.
"By the time Trenkler is released, he will have served over three decades (assuming good time) in U.S. Penitentiaries, including through a pandemic."

The Boston Police Department said in a statement that the department was "saddened" by the ruling.

In addition, Smith agreed to allow Trenkle to serve the remainder of his sentence at a federal prison in Devens, Massachusetts, moving him from his current facility in Arizona.

Trenkle previously had his sentence reduced, but it was overturned on appeal.

Trenkle was convicted for charges of illegal receipt and use of explosive materials, attempted malicious destruction of property by means of explosives and conspiracy. Investigators say Trenkle built a bomb for Thomas Shay, who wanted to use it to kill his father and collect $400,000 from insurance.

The device detonated while a Boston police bomb squad examined the device outside of Shay's home in Roslindale. The explosion killed Boston police officer Jeremiah Hurley and seriously wounded his partner, Francis Foley.

Trenkle's attorney, Nancy Gertner, a former federal judge, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Mississippi
Woman pleads guilty to robbing bank to pay for plastic surgery
GULFPORT, Miss. (AP) — An Alabama woman, who authorities believe stole money from a bank to pay for plastic surgery, pleaded guilty to robbery and will serve 15 years in prison.

Iconic Facce, from the southern Alabama town of Ashford, entered her plea Monday to two counts of robbery, news outlets reported. She was sentenced to 15 years in prison for both counts to run concurrently.

Facce admitted to robbing a Gulfport bank in March 2019. According to court documents, she gave a teller a handwritten note that read, "you have 1 min to give the money do not be wrong are (sic) die."

The bank's surveillance system captured the robbery. No weapon was seen or shown, according to WLOX-TV.

News outlets reported that an abandoned Cadillac was later found near the bank. Investigators traced it back to Facce and determined she was the suspect in the footage of the robbery. Photo lineups were presented to two bank tellers, and both identified Facce.

Assistant District Attorney Ian Baker said investigators used geolocation data from Facce's phone to determine she was in the area of the bank within the timeframe it was robbed.

The phone was last located the next day at the Huntsville International Airport, Baker said. A week later, Facce was arrested at a Houston airport upon returning from Mexico.

Authorities said they believed the trip was for plastic surgery, according to the Biloxi Sun Herald. Witnesses told police the suspect's face was swollen in a way that was consistent with cosmetic surgery.

WLOX reported that the case was scheduled for trial beginning June 28, but Facce requested to enter a guilty plea beforehand through her attorney.

Facce previously served 51 months in prison for robbing a north Alabama bank in 2009, according to the Sun Herald.