North Dakota
Supreme Court denies appeal of kidnapping, slaying convict
BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — The North Dakota Supreme Court has denied the appeal of a man serving life in prison for kidnapping and killing another man in Burleigh County in 2012.
John Clark Bridges argued in his appeal that mental illness prevented him from understanding the charges against him, aiding in his defense or filing a timely application for relief.
The justices ruled in part that Bridges had not presented evidence establishing that he suffers from a mental illness.
Bridges, who is in his early 50s, is serving a life sentence for the July 2012 murder of Lee Clay, along with 20 years for kidnapping Clay plus an additional 40 years for possessing contraband and stabbing a correctional officer at the North Dakota State Penitentiary with a knife fashioned out of a piece of metal in August 2013, the Bismarck Tribune reported.
Bridges admitted to forcing Clay into his van on July 6, 2012, stabbing him and striking him with a hatchet during a struggle on Interstate 94. He pleaded guilty to the charges.
Bridges told investigators he met Clay and another man through work in Bismarck and planned to kill them after having a dream about them that made him suspicious.
The lower court ruled that Bridges’ applications for relief were untimely and that his competency was fully evaluated at the time of his convictions.
Nebraska
Man pleads guilty to starting fire that killed wife
OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — An Omaha man who set fire to his family’s home and critically injured his wife has pleaded guilty to two felony charges in the wake of her death.
Carl Bohm, 68, pleaded guilty Wednesday to first-degree arson and attempted first-degree assault as part of an agreement with prosecutors. The Omaha World-Herald reports that he will face up to 70 years in prison when he’s sentenced in February.
Prosecutors considered upgrading the charges against Bohm after his wife, Janet Franks-Bohm, died in October — more than two years after the 2019 fire that also injured the couple’s daughter. A coroner ruled that Franks-Bohm’s death was directly related to the fire. She underwent more than 30 surgeries after the fire to try to repair the damage from extensive third-degree burns.
Douglas County Attorney Don Kleine said he agreed to the plea deal after meeting with Franks-Bohm’s family. He said family members didn’t want to have to testify at trial and didn’t want the court process to be restarted to add a murder charge.
Kleine said he plans to ask for a sentence long enough to keep Bohm in prison for the rest of his life.
Virginia
Attorney sues state for withholding lab records
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — An attorney for a man who came within days of being executed in Virginia for a murder he didn’t commit has filed a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit against a state agency that’s withholding records the attorney believes will show authorities could have gotten the right suspect.
Attorney Robert Hall, who has represented Earl Washington Jr. since 1985, filed the lawsuit Tuesday against the Virginia Department of Forensic Science, The Richmond Times-Dispatch reported.
Washington, with an IQ of 69, narrowly escaped being executed in 1985 after police led him into a false confession by giving him details of a killing. In 2007, Kenneth Tinsley, who is now dead, admitted he raped Rebecca Lynn Williams in 1982 and conceded that prosecutors’ evidence, which included DNA, could have proven his guilt beyond a reasonable doubt when it came to her killing.
The Department of Forensic Science has documents that could answer a question related to Tinsley, and Hall wants the public to have access to them. Hall suspects test results will show Tinsley had a unique blood marker found at the crime scene, which investigators knew Washington did not have, according to a news release issued by Hall’s attorney. Hall believes the lab results were changed for prosecutors’ convenience, depriving law enforcement of an opportunity to connect Tinsley to the crime in 1984.
When Hall sought Tinsley’s blood test results last January, Amy Jenkins, the department’s general counsel, responded that the department had documents on the results, but was not releasing them because of a criminal record exemption. Later in the year, a new law expanded the type of records that must be released. When Hall made another FOIA request, the department said it does not have to turn them over because it’s not a law enforcement agency. Hall wrote in his lawsuit that the new law applies to all public bodies.
Department Director Linda Jackson declined to answer when asked why she did not turn over the records.
The lawsuit asks a judge to find that Jenkins and Jackson violated the Freedom of Information Act and order them to stop claiming they are exempt and turn over the records. A court hearing is scheduled for Jan. 11.
Ohio
Man accused of sexually abusing 6 boys gets 94 years
LIMA, Ohio (AP) — An Ohio man who pleaded guilty to sexually battery after being accused of abusing six boys has been sentenced to a minimum of 94 years in prison.
Allen County Judge Jeffery Reed called the case against Jeremy Kindle of Elida an “abomination” while sentencing him on Tuesday.
Kindle pleaded guilty in November to felonious assault, sexual battery, unlawful sexual conduct with a minor and tampering with evidence. Prosecutors dropped rape charges against Kindle to limit the trauma of the victims, assistant county prosecutor Joe Everhart said.
Authorities said in court documents that the abuse took place over three years. Everhart said Kindle gave the victims gifts, alcohol and marijuana, and he alleged that the defendant was infected with the virus that causes AIDS at the time.
Kindle said at his sentencing that he was ashamed and full of regret.
The investigation into the case resulted in charges against the former executive director of the Allen County Children Services agency and the resignations of two employees.
Nevada
Psychologist takes plea, avoids trial in wife’s death
LAS VEGAS (AP) — A Nevada psychologist accused of killing his attorney wife with prescription painkillers and antifreeze has taken a plea deal that avoids a murder trial in a seven-year saga stemming from what authorities at first believed was a suicide.
Gregory “Brent” Dennis, 59, is expected to be sentenced to three to 10 years in prison for his voluntary manslaughter conviction in the death of Susan Winters, the Las Vegas Review-Journal reported.
Dennis on Tuesday entered a so-called Alford plea that acknowledged that prosecutors had evidence to prove his guilt but avoided a guilty plea, according to court records. His trial had been scheduled to begin next month.
He is due for sentencing May 10 before Clark County District Court Judge Michelle Leavitt.
“Brent Dennis resolved this case without making any admission of guilt in order to eventually return his life to normalcy,” defense attorney Richard Schonfeld said in a statement.
Prosecutor Marc DiGiacomo called a possible 10-year sentence a reasonable outcome in a complex case involving a nearly 60-year-old defendant and circumstantial evidence.
Winters, a part-time North Las Vegas judge, was found dead in January 2015 in the couple’s home in suburban Henderson.
Her death initially was ruled a suicide with a lethal amount of prescription painkillers and antifreeze, but Review-Journal articles raised questions about that finding and the Clark County coroner’s office changed the manner of death to undetermined.
Investigators later determined that Dennis lied about his wife’s death and had a financial motive to kill her, according to his arrest report. He was arrested in February 2017 and remained free on $250,000 bail.
DiGiacomo said that at the time of Winters’ death, the couple was on the verge of separation and Dennis was dealing with a cocaine addiction that was draining his finances.
Dennis stood to inherit about $2 million, including a $1 million life insurance policy, upon his wife’s death.
DiGiacomo said that after Winters took opioids, Dennis waited to call 911 and issued a do-not-resuscitate order for her at a hospital.
Shortly after Winters died, Dennis deposited into his bank account $180,000 that he later told a friend he obtained from his wife’s account because he knew her parents would freeze her assets.
“The problem for Mr. Dennis is, he knew some nine hours before her death that she was going to be dead,” DiGiacomo told the Review-Journal.
Wisconsin
Man pleads guilty to killing grandmother, ruled mentally ill
JANESVILLE, Wis. (AP) — A Rock County man has pleaded guilty to killing his 97-year-old grandmother, and a judge has ruled he was not legally responsible for the crime because of his mental illness.
Thirty-seven-year-old Jamie Beggs was living with his grandmother, Kathleen Beggs, when he stabbed and strangled her last June at her home near Janesville.
He pleaded guilty Tuesday in Rock County Circuit Court to first-degree intentional homicide. Under the terms of a plea deal, prosecutors agreed with the findings of a doctor who diagnosed Beggs with a mental illness, which rendered him not legally responsible for the slaying, the State Journal reported.
According to a criminal complaint, when police questioned Beggs about his grandmother’s death he claimed he saved her soul because she was now a saint.
Under state law, with a finding that he is not guilty by reason of mental disease or defect, Beggs can be placed under the control of the Department of Health Services for the rest of his life. He would likely be placed initially in an mental health institution with the opportunity to petition for conditional release every six months.
In order to be released he would have to prove he is no longer a danger to himself or others. A hearing on his commitment is scheduled Jan. 26.
North Carolina
Man who fired at police gets 46-year sentence
GREENSBORO, N.C. (AP) — A North Carolina man has been sentenced to 46 years in prison after his conviction on charges filed after he barricaded himself inside a home and began shooting at law enforcement officers, a federal prosecutor says.
Randall Gray Stoneman, 52, was sentenced on Wednesday in federal court in Greensboro on multiple charges, including possessing firearms after a previous felony conviction and possessing body armor after having been convicted of a crime of violence, according to U.S. Attorney Sandra J. Hairston of the Middle District of North Carolina.
Stoneman was convicted in August.
Authorities said Guilford County sheriff’s deputies were responding to a call about an assault on April 29, 2020. According to testimony, Stoneman barricaded himself in a residence. Armed with multiple weapons, including three 12-gauge shotguns, and wearing a ballistic vest, Stoneman held officers at bay for hours, firing at them intermittently.
Officers deployed chemicals into the home, forcing Stoneman to surrender.
In addition to the 46 years, a judge ordered Stoneman to serve concurrent two-year, three-year, and five-year terms of supervised release after his prison sentence and to pay a special assessment of $400.
