National Roundup

Arkansas Teen pleads guilty in sister's shooting death RUSSELLVILLE, Ark. (AP) -- A 15-year-old boy accused of shooting his older sister as she slept at their family's rural Arkansas home pleaded guilty Wednesday to second-degree murder. Colton Harvey was charged as an adult in the January shooting death of 16-year-old Candace Harvey. At a hearing Wednesday, the teen admitted he shot his sister three times. Prosecutors said Candace was asleep in her bed when her brother fired the shots into her head. Harvey was sentenced to 45 years in prison -- 30 years on the second-degree murder charge and 15 years more because he used a gun. He had been charged as an adult with first-degree murder, which has a maximum penalty of life in prison. Harvey teared up as he addressed the judge Wednesday, at one point raising his handcuffed hands to his face so he could dab his eyes with a tissue. Authorities said the teen likely killed his sister one January morning after their parents left to go grocery shopping about 40 miles away. The sheriff said the teen seemed remorseful and had tears in his eyes when he turned himself in that same morning. Investigators found his sister's body in a bedroom at the family's home near Ozark, a town of about 3,600 roughly 120 miles northwest of Little Rock. The sheriff said the boy and his father were avid hunters and investigators confiscated multiple guns from the family's home and vehicle. California Man accused of making underage sons drink liquor SURPRISE, Ariz. (AP) -- A man in the Phoenix suburb of Surprise is accused of trying to discipline his underage sons by forcing them to drink liquor and throwing them into a swimming pool. KPHO-TV reports that Kristopher Harvey of Surprise faces two counts of child abuse. Police say Harvey wanted to discipline his 13- and 14-year-old sons for getting into his alcohol last week. They say Harvey made the boys take three shots each of hard liquor and then threw them into the pool. The boys were visiting Harvey from California, where they live with their grandmother. California New lawsuit for OC officer in homeless death case FULLERTON, Calif. (AP) -- A disabled man has filed a lawsuit against Fullerton police, saying he was abused by the same officer charged in the beating death of a homeless man. The Orange County Register reports Tuesday that Mark Edwin Walker says he was thrown to the ground and stomped during an arrest last year and his injuries included a broken hand. Police audio recordings captured a 20-minute encounter between Mark Edwin Walker and two officers. One of the officers, Manuel Ramos, can be heard trying to get Walker to stand to be handcuffed and threatening to break his arm. Acting police chief Dan Hughes says the recording contains no evidence of abuse and calls the allegations "fabricated lies." Ramos has been charged in the death of Kelly Thomas, a Fullerton homeless man. Ohio Ex-Bengals player sentenced in Ohio sex trial CINCINNATI (AP) -- Former Bengals linebacker Nate Webster has been sentenced to 12 years in prison for having sex with the underage teen daughter of a former assistant coach for the Cincinnati team. A court official in Cincinnati says 34-year-old Webster was sentenced Wednesday on four counts of unlawful sexual conduct with a minor. He could have received up to 20 years. Prosecutors say Webster had sex with the girl in 2009 when she was 15 and threatened to harm her if she told anyone. Webster admitted having sex with the girl the next year, when she was 16. Sixteen is Ohio's legal age of consent. Webster's attorney did not immediately return calls for comment. Prosecutors say Webster turned down a plea deal that would have sent him to prison for four years. New Mexico Teacher gets probation in texting case LOS LUNAS, N.M. (AP) -- A former Belen school teacher is getting probation for allegedly convincing a 15-year-old girl to text him inappropriate photos of herself. The Valencia County News-Bulletin reports a judge Tuesday suspended an 18-month sentence for 42-year-old Manuel G. Martinez III for felony charges of contributing to the delinquency of a minor. Prosecutors say Martinez contacted the girl through Facebook and text messaging in March. She eventually sent pictures of herself posed in what they say was a provocative manner. The girl, a sophomore at the time, told the school who reported it to Los Lunas police. Police used the girl's cellphone to arrange a meeting with Martinez, where he was arrested. Martinez, who has an 18-year-old daughter, apologized to the victim and her family in court. Ohio Justices: Ohio school district must allow charter COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) -- The Ohio Supreme Court says a public school district can't legally keep buildings it sells from being used as charter schools. The court ruled 6-1 Wednesday that a deed restriction barring future educational use of the former Roosevelt School in Cincinnati was unenforceable. Roger Conners and his mother, Deborah Conners, bought the building in 2009. They wanted to reopen it as a charter or community school the following school year. They fought the deed restriction as a violation of Ohio public policy favoring community schools. Justices said that policy outweighs the Cincinnati school board's right to negotiate contract terms on its property. Justice Paul Pfeifer dissented. Pfiefer said ignoring the deed restriction was a way for the buyers to increase their profit on the real estate transaction. South Dakota Judge throws out SD inmate's circumcision lawsuit SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) -- A federal judge threw out a South Dakota prison inmate's claim he was permanently harmed when he was circumcised as an infant. Twenty-eight-year-old Dean Cochrun had sought $1,000 in damages from Sanford Health. U.S. District Judge Karen Schreier dismissed the case last week. She says the federal courts don't have jurisdiction over a claim as small as Cochrun's. Cochrun's court filing says he was circumcised shortly after he was born in Sioux Valley Hospital in Sioux Falls, S.D. The hospital is now known as Sanford Health. Cochrun says the circumcision left him feeling inadequate and unable to fully enjoy sexual intercourse. Sanford Health says the procedure would not have been done without parental consent. Cochrun is serving time in South Dakota's state prison for kidnapping. Published: Thu, Jun 7, 2012