National Roundup

New York 8 US soldiers charged in fellow soldier's death NEW YORK (AP) -- The U.S. Army says eight American soldiers have been charged in connection with the Oct. 3 death of a fellow soldier in southern Afghanistan. Pvt. Danny Chen, a 19-year-old from New York, was found in a guard tower in Kandahar province with what the Army has described as "an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound." Further details weren't immediately available. The Army announced in October that it was investigating Chen's death. Chen was assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 21st Infantry Regiment, 1st Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division, Fort Wainwright, Alaska. In a statement, the military said the eight soldiers from Chen's company faced charges ranging from dereliction of duty, assault, negligent homicide and involuntary manslaughter. Chen was from Manhattan. His funeral was held in New York City's Chinatown. Illinois Chicago man thought to be Gacy victim found alive CHICAGO (AP) -- Another man whose family feared had become a victim of serial killer John Wayne Gacy has been found alive. The Cook County Sheriff's office says Theodore Szal (zawl) went missing from the Chicago area in 1977 at age 24. His race, age and the date he disappeared bore enough similarities to Gacy's 33 victims that his family's DNA was compared to eight never-identified Gacy victims whose bodies were recently exhumed. There wasn't a match, but the sheriff's office was able to track Szal down in Beaverton, Ore. He's now 59 years old. Sheriff Tom Dart says Szal's family is "ecstatic and amazed" that he's alive. He says they're planning the best way to reconnect. Another man thought to be a Gacy victim was found alive in Florida in October. Maryland Defense rests case in WikiLeaks military hearing FORT MEADE, Md. (AP) -- The defense has rested in a hearing to determine whether the Army intelligence analyst blamed for the biggest leak of secrets in U.S. history should be court-martialed. Pfc. Bradley Manning's lawyers called only two witnesses Wednesday: a sergeant who saw one of Manning's fits of rage in Baghdad and a captain whom the young private served under in Iraq. The hearing was recessed until closing arguments Thursday. Manning is accused of releasing a trove of classified military and diplomatic information to the WikiLeaks website. If court-martialed and then found guilty of aiding the enemy, he could face up to a life sentence. Idaho Murder retrial costs soar toward $250K MOSCOW, Idaho (AP) -- The retrial of a northern Idaho man in the 10-year-old murder of a Moscow woman could cost Latah County taxpayers up to $250,000. A jury convicted 29-year-old David Meister of first-degree murder last month. The verdict capped Meister's second trial in the death of Tonya Hart, a 21-year-old who was shot twice at point-blank range in December 2001. The Lewiston Tribune reports Latah County has calculated $200,500 in additional expenses for the retrial proceedings, and prosecutors report spending at least $38,500 this time around. Meister was first convicted of killing Hart in 2003 and sentenced to life in prison. But the Idaho Supreme Court later ordered a new trial, ruling a district judge erred in refusing to allow evidence that some other person may have been the shooter. Tennessee Sentence upheld for threats against federal judge NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) -- A federal appeals court has upheld the sentence of a man who sent threatening letters to a federal judge in Nashville. Herbert Wilfred Nixon sent the letters to Senior Judge Thomas Wiseman after Wiseman sentenced him to jail for credit card fraud in 2002. The Tennessean reported that one of the letters contained a white powder that turned out to be artificial sweetener. Nixon pleaded guilty to making a false threat involving a biological weapon. He appealed his sentence of five years, which was greater than the federal sentencing guidelines of 30 to 37 months. A three-judge panel on the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the sentence on Tuesday, citing Nixon's criminal history and the fact that his hoax was meant to terrorize a judge and his staff. Wisconsin Another investigation requested into Gableman MADISON, Wis. (AP) -- A government watchdog group is requesting another investigation into Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice Michael Gableman for accepting free legal services from a law firm with cases before the high court. The Wisconsin Democracy Campaign on Wednesday asked the Government Accountability Board to investigate whether Gableman violated campaign finance laws by not reporting the free legal services. Democratic state Rep. Gary Hebl made a similar request to the board on Tuesday. Both Hebl and the Democracy Campaign have also asked the state Judicial Commission to look into Gableman. Gableman received free legal services from Michael Best & Friedrich, a prominent law firm that defended the justice in an ethics case that arose out of the 2008 campaign. New York Father gets life in prison for double slaying BATH, N.Y. (AP) -- A contractor has been sentenced to life in prison without possibility of parole for killing his estranged girlfriend and their 3-month-old son in a small western New York town. Bryan Ashline was convicted of first-degree murder last month in the Father's Day stabbings of 25-year-old Trieste Clayton and son Xavier at her apartment in Bath on June 20, 2010. He drew the maximum penalty at Wednesday's sentencing in Steuben County Court. Ashline acknowledged at trial he was the killer. But he maintained he was overcome by "extreme emotional disturbance." If successful, that psychiatric defense would have resulted in a conviction on a lesser charge of manslaughter. Ashline's girlfriend obtained an order of protection in 2009 after he was charged with assaulting her while he was drunk. Published: Thu, Dec 22, 2011