National Roundup

Washington
Alleged kidnap victim cried out ‘Help me’ after car crash

WASHINGTON (AP) — An 11-year-old girl who was allegedly kidnapped from North Carolina cried out “Help me” when police officers in the U.S. capital found her wedged between the driver’s and front passenger’s seat after the car she was in crashed, court documents showed.

The documents were released late Monday. They describe the police pursuit Sunday of the car allegedly driven by 36-year-old Curtis Atkinson Jr. of Charlotte, North Carolina. Atkinson is the uncle of 11-year-old girl Arieyana Forney. He is charged with killing his parents, who were Arieyana’s grandparents and guardians, in North Carolina.

Police describe Atkinson leading them on a chase, which ended when the car rear-ended another vehicle in Washington.

Court documents made available Monday said that an officer who chased the vehicle in Washington was told that the occupants of the vehicle “had a handgun and they were not scared to hurt the kidnapped child in the vehicle.”
Arieyana was taken to a hospital for evaluation.

Atkinson’s first cousin Nina Chandler told The Associated Press that family members also don’t know why Atkinson was found with Arieyana, his late brother’s daughter, after fleeing the North Carolina home where Atkinson’s parents were found dead Sunday.

In a telephone interview, Chandler said that Atkinson and his parents shared an enthusiasm for football and basketball, attending NFL games of the Carolina Panthers and Charlotte’s former NBA team, the Hornets.

In court documents filed Monday ahead of the planned court appearance, authorities said Atkinson Jr. was charged in North Carolina with homicide.

Police in North Carolina had said earlier that they planned to seek charges against Atkinson in the deaths of his parents, Ruby Atkinson, 62, and Curtis Atkinson Sr., 63.

Nikkia Cooper, 25, the third person in the car stopped Sunday, is also facing charges. Court records released Monday in Washington identified her as Nakkia Cooper and said she was wanted in North Carolina for kidnapping. She also faces a drug charge in Washington.

Both Atkinson Jr. and Cooper appeared in court Monday and are being held in jail.

The court documents said authorities intend to extradite Atkinson Jr. and Cooper to North Carolina.

Arieyana’s grandparents became her guardians after her father, 29-year-old Micah Atkinson, was killed in a still-unsolved slaying in 2013, Chandler said.

Curtis Atkinson Jr. has a criminal record including convictions for drug dealing and possessing stolen goods dating to 1999, according to state prison records. He served 11 months in prison before being released in 2011, those records show.

California
Feds detain prostitute who gave Google exec fatal drug shot

SANTA CRUZ, Calif. (AP) — Federal immigration officials have detained a California prostitute after she completed a jail sentence for involuntary manslaughter in connection with the accidental heroin overdose of a Google executive she was entertaining aboard his yacht.

Santa Cruz sheriff’s officials confirmed Monday that they turned over 30-year-old Alix Tichelman to the custody of Department of Homeland Security Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents on the morning she completed her sentence and was released from jail on March 29.

The Santa Cruz Sentinel, citing court records, says Tichelman holds dual citizenship in the United States and Canada.

A Santa Cruz County Superior Court judge in 2015 sentenced Tichelman to five years in prison after she pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter and administering drugs. Counting time served before her guilty plea, Tichelman was released after serving about half her sentence, with time off for good behavior.

In November 2013, Tichelman injected Forrest Timothy Hayes with heroin, then left without seeking help when he passed out on the yacht, authorities say. Hayes had hired Tichelman several times before, and they were doing drugs and having sex the night he died, authorities said.

The high-end call girl was arrested eight months after Hayes’ death. Santa Cruz police said a surveillance video at the Santa Cruz harbor showed the woman gather her belongings, casually step over Hayes’ body, finish a glass of wine and lower a blind before leaving the yacht the night before the body was discovered.

The video also showed Tichelman panicking and attempting to revive Hayes as he slipped into unconsciousness before leaving the yacht, Santa Cruz Deputy District Attorney Rafael Vazquez said.

Santa Cruz Sheriff Sgt. Chris Clark said ICE agents appeared at the Northern California jail to detain Tichelman on her release.

 
Virginia
Woman indicted after police find fetal remains buried in yard

CHESTERFIELD, Va. (AP) — A woman has been indicted on a felony charge after police found fetal remains buried in a backyard last year.

News outlets report police searched the residence of 43-year-old Michelle F. Roberts in February 2016. Investigators had received a tip from the mother of her boyfriend and a man who may have fathered the child. He was in prison at the time.

Police say the fetus was likely in its third trimester and had been buried five to six months prior. But Roberts and her adult daughter say in court records the boy was delivered stillborn or died shortly thereafter.

Roberts had been taking low doses of methadone provided by a local treatment center since 2012. If convicted, she could face up to 10 years in prison.

Pennsylvania
Judge challenges disbarment after stealing cocaine from evidence

PITTSBURGH (AP) — A former judge convicted of stealing cocaine from evidence in the county drug court he founded has asked the Pennsylvania Supreme Court to consider allowing his law license to remain suspended instead of permanently disbarring him.

Former Washington County Judge Paul Pozonsky’s license has been temporarily suspended since August 2015, a month after he pleaded guilty and was given 30 days to nearly two years in jail.

Pozonsky’s attorney and former law clerk, James Andrew Salemme, argued before the court sitting in Pittsburgh Tuesday that Pozonsky deserves a second chance to rebuild his life and career, seeing as he’s forfeited his pension and medical benefits.

But an attorney for the state’s Office of Disciplinary Counsel says Pozonsky deserves the harshest sanction because his actions eroded the public trust.