Alabama
Man convicted of capital murder in trial without a body
OPELIKA, Ala, (AP) — A man who was arrested 12 years after a woman went missing was convicted of capital murder in her slaying Thursday despite authorities never locating a body.
Jurors convicted Derrill Richard Ennis, 41, in the slaying of Lori Ann Slesinski, 24, during their second day of deliberations, news outlets reported.
A judge sentenced the man to life in prison without parole after a prosecutor said the victim’s mother didn’t want to pursue the death penalty because of the lengthy appeals that often are involved, WRBL-TV reported. The state had planned to seek Ennis’ execution.
Ennis was obsessed with Slesinski and killed her when she refused to be more than friends, prosecutors argued. Ennis testified they had consensual sex and Slesinski vanished after leaving to meet a drug dealer.
Slesinski’s mother reported her missing June 13, 2006, and her burned-out car was found the next day. Ennis left Auburn after being questioned by police and was arrested in Virginia in 2018.
Under questioning during the trial, Ennis denied dumping Slesinski’s body and said he didn’t know what happened to her.
Ennis’ semen was found inside Slesinski’s mobile home, forensic evidence showed, and investigators found a phone, minus its long cord, in her bedroom. A rolled cigarette with Ennis’ DNA was found near Slesinski’s burned vehicle, and the man had fresh scratches on his arms and hands when questioned by police. Cleaning supplies, a knife and handcuffs were found in Ennis’ car, evidence showed.
Ennis testified that scratches on his arms came from his dog, and the defense suggested someone planted the cigarette with Ennis’ DNA at the scene of the burned-out vehicle.
California
Feds: Ex-official stole $25M worth of federally owned water
FRESNO, Calif. (AP) — The former general manager of a central California water district is accused of stealing more than $25 million in federally owned water by exploiting a leak in a canal, prosecutors said Thursday.
Dennis Falaschi, 75, was indicted on charges of conspiracy, theft of government property, and filing false tax returns, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of California.
Falaschi worked at the Panoche Water District in the San Joaquin Valley, which serves parts of Merced and Fresno counties, according to the Los Angeles Times.
While the indictment does not name the water district, Falaschi was among five people — including his son — who face state charges relating to the alleged embezzlement of the agency’s funds. Falaschi was accused by prosecutors in 2018 of using the Panoche Water District “as his own personal operation and bank account.” That case remains ongoing.
Falaschi’s attorney did not immediately return a request for comment Friday, nor did the Panoche Water District’s current general manager.
Falaschi’s scheme in the federal case allegedly dates back to 1992, when he was told that cement on a gate in the Delta-Mendota Canal had cracked and it was leaking water, prosecutors said.
He is accused of directing employees to install mechanics that both diverted the leaking water into the Panoche Water District’s canal and concealed the equipment. The site was not discovered until 2015 when drought levels brought the water levels low enough for the equipment to be spotted.
He allegedly used the proceeds from the stolen water to fund “exorbitant salaries, fringe benefits, and personal expense reimbursements” for himself and others.
Falaschi is also charged with filing false tax returns from 2015 to 2017 by failing to report more than $900,000 in income from the private water sales.
Florida
Police officer convicted in woman’s rough arrest
MIAMI (AP) — A jury took just over an hour to convict a Miami-Dade officer of felony battery and official misconduct in the rough arrest of a Black woman who had called police for help.
Alejandro Giraldo was suspended after cellphone video circulated on social media in March 2019 showing him tackling Dyma Loving, who had called police to report that a neighbor had pointed a shotgun at her. Police body cameras also recorded the encounter.
“Police officers can put their hands on people to effectuate a lawful arrest. If the arrest is unlawful, they have no more rights than the rest of us. And he sure as heck can’t tackle her to the ground,” said prosecutor Tim VanderGiesen.
Giraldo insisted he acted lawfully in subduing an unruly woman who was interfering with an investigation.
“What you see there isn’t a crime. What you see there is a police officer working the streets, dealing with a situation and maybe his bedside manner was off,” his attorney, Andre Rouviere, told jurors. “When he arrested Dyma Loving, it was after warning after warning that she was being disruptive.”
Giraldo, who is Hispanic, faces up to five years in prison at sentencing. The jury consisted of two Black women, one Hispanic woman and three Hispanic men.
The video sparked outrage in a county where at least nine police officers from four different police agencies are awaiting trial on allegations they battered suspects while on duty, the Miami Herald reported. Three other officers have been acquitted since 2019 in excessive force cases.
The conviction of North Miami police Officer Jonathon Aledda was overturned by an appeals court in February. He had fired his weapon at an autistic man holding a silver toy truck, and hit the man’s caregiver. Prosecutors declined to try the case again.
In Giraldo’s case, video showed him pushing Loving into a fence and then taking her to the ground, where she was handcuffed. Loving was charged with disorderly conduct and resisting arrest without violence. Those charges were later dropped.
The arrest report inaccurately said that Loving was “causing a scene” and was being “uncooperative,” prosecutors said.
Giraldo’s defense attorney countered that it was Loving and another woman at the scene who were out of control.
“We thought that we had established that they couldn’t prove beyond a reasonable doubt the charges, but I guess the jury saw it a different way, and we have to accept the jury’s verdict,” Rouviere said after Giraldo was convicted on Thursday.
