Washington
Exonerated man suing DC for Va. prison conditions
WASHINGTON (AP) — A District of Columbia man exonerated after spending 20 years in prison for a 1981 rape and robbery he didn’t commit is suing the District for his treatment at a now-shuttered northern Virginia prison, where he says he was repeatedly raped and contracted HIV.
Kirk Odom, who lives with his wife in Southeast Washington, was exonerated in 2012 after DNA testing proved he was innocent. He had served two decades in prison before being paroled in 2003 in the rape of a woman in her Capitol Hill apartment in February 1981.
About a year ago, the 52-year-old settled a lawsuit against the federal government for false imprisonment for about $1.2 million, the maximum allowed. Now he’s seeking additional compensation from the District stemming from conditions at the Lorton prison in Fairfax County, which closed in 2001.
On Monday and Tuesday, Odom sat on the witness stand in D.C. Superior Court, recounting his time in prison, which he says include a number of rapes and suicide attempts, The Washington Post reported.
Odom testified that he tried to keep his rape conviction a secret from fellow inmates, since those serving time for sexual assaults often are targeted for rape themselves. But it didn’t last long.
Odom said he was first raped in 1982 after a fellow inmate walked up to him and whispered, “I know what you did.” He was raped more than a half-dozen times during his stay at the prison, he said.
Fifteen years after the first rape, Odom took an HIV test, which showed he was negative. Months later, after another fellow inmate raped him, he tested positive for the virus.
“I was devastated,” Odom said.
Odom also testified that his cell at Lorton was overrun with rats and cockroaches, and saw other inmates get attacked and killed. He said he was afraid to fall asleep at night and take showers for fear of being attacked.
“I tried to stay alive,” he said. “Each and every day, I feared for my safety ... I didn’t know what would happen next.”
Odom also spoke of depression and suicide attempts, saying he once tried to hang himself. He said he once set his mattress on fire after an appeals court turned down his case.
Attorneys with the D.C. attorney general’s office said that while they sympathize with Odom’s plight, he shouldn’t receive any compensation on top of what the federal government gave him. In regard to his HIV status, they noted that Odom admitted to having a consensual sexual relationship and getting a tattoo while in prison.
Odom now owns a landscaping and painting company with his wife, Harriet, whom he met in an HIV-support group. He said he continues to take medication for depression and for his HIV.
Oregon
Ex-basketball coach pleads to sex abuse
SALEM, Ore. (AP) — A man who worked as an assistant girls basketball coach at West Salem High School pleaded guilty to sexual abuse.
Emrance Berger entered the plea Tuesday just before his trial was scheduled to begin in Polk County Circuit Court.
In return for his guilty plea, a sodomy charge and other charges were dismissed.
The Statesman Journal reports Berger will be sentenced Friday.
The 30-year-old was arrested in February after a girl told her parents about him.
Berger had been employed by the Salem-Keizer School District as a coach since 2012 and worked several years before then as a volunteer.
North Carolina
Police seize Yahoo! account of dead woman
DAVIDSON, N.C. (AP) — Police in Davidson has seized the Yahoo! Internet account of a woman found dead in her townhouse earlier this year, in hopes of finding her killer.
The Charlotte Observer reported that Detective Vernon Siders Jr. obtained a court order to review Sarah Catherin Long’s accounts.
A search warrant says police are reviewing text messages, emails and financial transactions.
Long was found dead in her bedroom July 24 with a gun in her hand. Police initially thought Long had shot herself. But police say they now believe someone else was in Long’s home the night she died.
The gun was in her left hand. She was right-handed.
The case is being treated as a homicide.
Utah
Man sent to prison for killing stepdaughter
ST. GEORGE, Utah (AP) — An 83-year-old Parowan man has been sentenced to 15 years to life in prison for killing his stepdaughter outside his home in July.
Fifth District Judge Keith Barnes on Tuesday also ordered Nathan Zimmerman to pay $10,000 in restitution.
Zimmerman earlier pleaded guilty to first-degree murder in the death of 57-year-old Janet Goode of Parowan.
Zimmerman told investigators that Goode was walking toward the house when he fired a round from a shotgun at her chest.
The Salt Lake Tribune reports no motive for the shooting has been publicly revealed, but court records show Zimmerman’s wife filed for divorce the same day of the shooting.
The Spectrum of St. George reports the victim’s family members asked the judge to impose the maximum penalty, which Barnes did.
Washington
Trial date set for Hope Solo over domestic violence
KIRKLAND, Wash. (AP) — A January trial date has been set for U.S. national soccer team goalkeeper Hope Solo on misdemeanor domestic violence charges.
The Seattle Times reports Kirkland Municipal Court Judge Michael Lambo set Solo’s next court hearing for Jan. 6, with the trial to begin Jan. 20.
The date was set during a brief hearing that Solo attended Tuesday. Solo is charged with two counts of fourth-degree domestic violence assault stemming from a June 21 altercation with her sister and 17-year-old nephew at a family gathering. She has pleaded not guilty
Lambo granted a motion for depositions of the alleged victims. Solo’s attorney, Todd Maybrown, said they had previously refused to be interviewed with a court stenographer present.
Solo’s nephew told police she was upset and appeared to have been drinking when she arrived at a family gathering. Solo’s lawyer has said she was a victim in the altercation.
Solo and her nephew got into a fistfight after they argued about his acting aspirations and she called him fat and crazy, according to court documents. When the boy’s mother tried to break up the confrontation, Solo punched her in the face, the documents said.
The documents said the nephew broke a broom over Solo’s head and the teen pointed a broken BB gun at her and tried to get her to leave.
