National Roundup

Missouri Trial set for Oct. 2012 in central Mo. shootings JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) -- A man charged with three murders for a central Missouri shooting rampage has been scheduled to go to trial more than a year from now. The Jefferson City News Tribune reports that a Boone County judge has set an October 2012 trial for Joshua Maylee. Prosecutors have said they will seek the death penalty. Maylee faces three first-degree murder charges and one attempted murder charge for the Oct. 26, 2010, shootings. He is accused of killing Allen and Jackie Pinet at their Holts Summit home and Jeff Werdehausen at his home in Callaway County. He also is charged with attempting to kill Werdehausen's wife, Gina, who survived a gunshot wound. The trial was moved from Callaway County to Boone County. Illinois Man convicted of molesting ex-lover's son MURPHYSBORO, Ill. (AP) -- Sentencing will be in October for a southern Illinois man convicted of sexually abusing the young son of a man the defendant once dated. A Jackson County judge on Monday found 45-year-old Terry Christoff of Carbondale guilty of predatory criminal sexual assault and aggravated criminal sexual abuse with a victim younger than age 13. The Southern Illinoisan reports that Christoff told a Carbondale investigator that he had sexual relations with the now-5-year-old boy in 2009 after being threatened into doing so by the boy's father. Christoff and the boy's father were dating and living together at the time. A prosecutor says the investigation of the boy's father continues. The judge has revoked Christoff's bond. He'll remain jailed until his Oct. 3 sentencing. Pennsylvania Man gets up to 45 years more in second rape SAEGERTOWN, Pa. (AP) -- A northwestern Pennsylvania man serving up to 36 years in prison for raping a real estate agent at a secluded home has been sentenced to an additional 20? to 45 years in prison for doing the same thing to another agent two years earlier. Forty-year-old Michael Ray Tackett, of West Pittsburg, was sentenced Tuesday in the 2007 Crawford County attack. That crime was nearly identical to a 2009 incident in which he pleaded guilty to raping a different agent in Mercer County. Tackett lured the agents to secluded homes by professing interest in the properties, then used a stun gun to incapacitate the women before raping them. The 2007 victim came forward after learning of his arrest in the 2009 incident. Tackett denied raping the 2007 victim, but acknowledged assaulting her while under the influence of drugs. California LA County paying $650K to roughed up couple LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Los Angeles County is paying $650,000 to a California couple who say they were roughed up by deputies during a 2008 traffic stop. Erick Hoxey and Shatwan Smith filed an excessive force lawsuit against the county claiming they were stopped in Compton by two deputies for failure to wear a seat belt. Deputies said the couple assaulted them during questioning and they were arrested. Charges against the couple were eventually dropped. Attorney Glen Jonas tells City News Service that Hoxey was a victim of racial profiling and said the incident highlighted a pattern of violence and racial animosity among deputies at the sheriff's Compton station. Sheriff's Department spokesman Steve Whitmore says the allegations are untrue. On Tuesday, the Board of Supervisors agreed to settle their lawsuit for $650,000. New York Actress Faye Dunaway named in NYC eviction lawsuit NEW YORK (AP) -- A New York City landlord is suing Faye Dunaway, claiming the actress' rent-stabilized apartment is not her primary residence. The suit also names the actress' son, Liam Dunaway O'Neill, as a subtenant of the Manhattan apartment. The New York Times says the housing court suit was filed Tuesday. The suit says the "Bonnie & Clyde" actress owns a house in West Hollywood, Calif., and has her voter and car registrations there. Rent stabilization rules require tenants to use those apartments as a primary residence, not a second home. The suit says she pays $1,048 for the one-bedroom walk-up. The Times says similar apartments in that neighborhood rent for about twice that. The 70-year-old actress and her son didn't return calls seeking comment, and the landlord's lawyer declined to comment. Idaho Woman found fit to stand trial in St. Maries death ST. MARIES, Idaho (AP) -- A psychologist has found a north Idaho woman is fit to stand trial in the shooting death of her uncle in May. The Coeur d'Alene Press reports Daniel Hayes of Hayden Lake found 28-year-old Melisa R. Bates could both understand the charge against her and help her attorney with her defense. Bates is charged with first-degree murder in the death of 43-year-old Robert D. Marek at his house eight miles south of St. Maries. Court records say Bates had been staying with Marek. Benewah County Prosecutor Douglas Payne said Marek was shot with a handgun and beaten with a metal rod and an attempt was made to burn his body. Bates is scheduled for a preliminary hearing on Aug. 22 in St. Maries before Magistrate Patrick McFadden. North Dakota Church arsonist gets 6 years in prison DICKINSON, N.D. (AP) -- A Dickinson man who burglarized a church and then set it on fire has been sentenced to serve six years in prison. Authorities say 21-year-old Joshua Whitworth was charged with burglary, theft of property and arson after breaking into the Church of Christ in Dickinson, stealing $130 and starting a fire to destroy evidence in December. He pleaded guilty in June to burglary and arson as part of a plea agreement with prosecutors. The Dickinson Press reports that Whitworth also was ordered to pay nearly $2,000 in court fees, fines and restitution. Judge Zane Anderson also said he wanted Whitworth to undergo chemical dependency and psychological assessments. Whitworth's attorney, Jay Greenwood, said his client was under the influence of drugs when he broke into the church. Published: Thu, Aug 4, 2011