Court Digest

 Wyoming
Yellowstone bison species decision questioned by federal judge


YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK, Wyo. (AP) — A federal judge has ordered the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to revisit part of its decision not to protect Yellowstone National Park’s bison as an endangered species. 

The Buffalo Field Campaign and Western Watersheds Project groups have been fighting since 2014 to have Yellowstone’s bison declared endangered or threatened under the Endangered Species Act.

They have argued that two separate groups of bison in the park are genetically distinct. Rather than set a population limit of 3,000 animals for the entire park, they said, the limit should be 3,000 for each herd, or 6,000 overall.

The Fish and Wildlife Service, citing a different study, has argued that the herds are not genetically distinct and rejected the listing petition in 2019,  the Billings Gazette reported.

The federal agency failed to articulate why it chose one study over the other, District of Columbia U.S. District Judge Randolph D. Moss wrote in an opinion last week.

Moss set no deadline for the Fish and Wildlife Service to respond but will require both sides to update the court on the case within 90 days.

 

Nebraska
Ex-Omaha Archdiocese chancellor faces new theft charge

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — A former chancellor for the Roman Catholic Church’s Archdiocese of Omaha who is already charged with two felony counts has been charged with a new count of theft after authorities say he stole more than $100,000 from a church in Sarpy County. 

The Rev. Michael Gutgsell was charged with the third count last week and faces a preliminary hearing on the new charge on Feb. 8, the Omaha World-Herald reported.

Gutgsell was first arrested in October and charged  with attempted theft and abuse of a vulnerable adult.

Police have said that Gutgsell admitted to taking $180,000 from the bank accounts of retired Omaha priest Theodore Richling, who was suffering from Alzheimer’s at the time. 

Richling, who died in December 2019, was accused of several incidents of sexual misconduct with minor, and in 2020, the archdiocese said an investigation substantiated those accusations. Gutgsell had been assigned power of attorney to take care of Richling.

Police have said that during the same September interview of Gutgsell that led to his October arrest, he also admitted taking $106,000 from his former parish, St. Joseph’s Catholic Church in Springfield. Gutgsell said he gave the money to a homeless man, police said.

The archdiocese  announced Gutgsell’s resignation in August, saying a routine audit had uncovered the theft. The archdiocese has said it would not comment further on Gutgsell’s case.

An attorney for Gutgsell did not immediately return a phone message Monday seeking comment.

 

Delaware
University of Delaware fraternity sues over new house

WILMINGTON, Del. (AP) — A University of Delaware fraternity is suing the city of Newark over its denial of a request for a new fraternity house.

The UD chapter of Pi Kappa Alpha, known as PIKE, wants to establish a fraternity house at 34 Continental Ave. The organization has owned the property for years, but leased it for use as a sober living home for pregnant women.

The News Journal reports  that the lease expired at the end of 2021. PIKE fraternity wants 18 students from the fraternity to live there, starting in the fall semester.

In October, the Newark City Council rejected the proposal, citing concerns about the fraternity’s behavior and the impact the house would have on nearby residents. The vote was split 3-3, with Mayor Jerry Clifton and council members Jay Bancroft and John Suchanec voting against.

“It’s a difficult situation, but I think because of detrimental actions to the property values and the quality of life in the area, I’m going to vote no,” Bancroft said. 

The lawsuit asks the court to mandate the application be approved because it meets all zoning code criteria.

More than 50 sororities and fraternities are recognized by UD, but only 10 have their own houses. There are currently two fraternity houses in Newark and eight sorority houses, including seven on UD property and one on private property.

 

Michigan
Court: Emails between judge, prosecutor didn’t spoil trial

ALLEGAN, Mich. (AP) — A man convicted of criminal sexual conduct doesn’t deserve a new trial despite learning that the judge was sharing her opinion of the case through emails with the county prosecutor, the Michigan Court of Appeals said.

Daniel Loew had been granted a new trial, but the 2-1 decision by the appeals court reversed that decision Thursday.

“The record does not support even an inference that the emails provided any advantage or altered any tactics by the prosecution,” the court said.

An Allegan County jury in 2019 convicted Loew of criminal sexual conduct. Judge Margaret Zuzich-Bakker sentenced him to at least 20 years in prison.

It turned out that the judge had sent emails to prosecutor Myrene Koch during the trial, asking a question about the victim and offering an unflattering opinion about state police.

“This trooper didn’t do a very good investigation. Don’t they have detectives anymore?” Zuzich-Bakker said.

Koch said she wasn’t directly involved in Loew’s trial and didn’t share the judge’s opinions with an assistant prosecutor.

The emails were obtained by Michael Villar, who challenged Koch in the 2020 Republican primary but lost by 17 votes.

 

Illinois
Tornado victim’s family sues Amazon over warehouse collapse

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) — The family of a delivery driver who died last month when a tornado collapsed the central Illinois Amazon facility where he worked filed a wrongful death lawsuit Monday in Madison County. 

The action on behalf of Austin McEwen, 26, claims that Amazon failed to warn employees of dangerous weather or provide safe shelter before a tornado slammed the Edwardsville facility Dec. 10, killing McEwen and five others. 

It is believed to be the first legal action taken in response to the deaths. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration has opened an investigation. 

McEwen’s parents, Randy and Alice McEwen, allege that Amazon administrators knew severe weather was imminent but had no emergency plan nor evacuated employees from the fulfillment center. 

“Sadly, it appears that Amazon placed profits first during this holiday season instead of the safety of our son and the other five,” Alice McEwen said at a news conference Monday. 

Amazon “carelessly required individuals ... to continue working up until the moments before the tornado struck,” the lawsuit says, and “improperly directed” McEwen and colleagues to shelter in a rest room, which it says the company knew or should have known wasn’t safe. 

“They had people working up to the point of no return,” said Jack Casciato, the McEwens’ lawyer who is a partner of Clifford Law Offices.

Amazon spokeswoman Kelly Nantel released a statement that countered that the lawsuit “misunderstands key facts” including the differences among severe weather alerts and the condition and safety of the building. 

“This was a new building less than four years old, built in compliance with all applicable building codes, and the local teams were following the weather conditions closely,” Nantel said. “Severe weather watches are common in this part of the country and, while precautions are taken, are not cause for most businesses to close down. We believe our team did the right thing as soon as a warning was issued.”

The lawsuit seeks more than $50,000 from each of the four defendants named in the suit, which includes Amazon.com, the construction company that built the facility and the project’s developer.

Nantel said the company would defend itself against the lawsuit but would continue to focus on “supporting our employees and partners, the families who lost loved ones, the surrounding community, and all those affected by the tornadoes.”

 

Florida
Man accused in carjacking confesses to killing a man

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — A man who was arrested in a carjacking case told investigators he had also killed a man a week earlier, sheriff’s officials said Monday.

After being arrested Sunday for the carjacking, Alexander Acs, 33, rode with Orange County Sheriff’s detectives to an Orlando-area apartment complex, where investigators found a badly decomposed body. Acs told authorities he used a chunk of asphalt to kill the man.

According to deputies, Acs arrived in central Florida on Jan. 7 and was looking for an ex-girlfriend who had pressed charges against him in the Tampa area. An arrest affidavit did not describe those charges, but Acs told investigators he wanted to “take everything from her” and leave the country.

He was staying with someone in the area, who was not identified in the affidavit. Investigators said Acs apparently became upset with the man. On Jan. 11, he brought a “large piece of asphalt” to the apartment and hit the man over the head, tied him up and then hit him at least two more times with the concrete.

Investigators said Acs put the man’s body in a bedroom and covered it with clothes. He also turned the air conditioner to a low setting and doused the home with lighter fluid to cover any smell of a decomposing body, according to the affidavit.

Acs told authorities he then “wandered Orlando, sleeping in the woods” as he tried to track down a male friend of his ex-girlfriend.

He tried to make contact with the man on Sunday, which led to the carjacking. Sheriff’s deputies arrested Acs and on Monday he was charged with first-degree murder. Sheriff’s officials said they also plan to charge him with attempted murder, robbery and carjacking.

Acs told investigators that he “intends to plead guilty to the murder and hopes to receive the death penalty,” the arrest report said.

The carjacking victim is expected to survive the attack, sheriff’s officials said.

Court records did not list a lawyer who could speak on behalf of Acs.