National Roundup

Kansas
Sentencing delayed for ­Russian mom who took kids

WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — A judge has delayed until next month the sentencing of a Russian citizen convicted of taking her children from the U.S. to Russia amid a divorce.

Bogdana Alexandrovna Osipova was convicted of one count of international parental kidnapping and two counts of attempting to extort money. Court documents refer to her by her married name of Mobley.

The scheduled Monday sentencing has now been delayed until June 6.

Her attorneys sought the delay in part to present mitigating evidence obtained from people in Russia.

Prosecutors say she left Kansas in 2014 with one child from her first marriage and another child from a second marriage to Brian Mobley. She gave birth to a third child soon after returning to Russia. The children are thought to still be in Russia.

West Virginia
Mistrial declared in doctor’s pain pill case

CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — A federal judge has declared a mistrial in the case of a West Virginia doctor charged with illegally distributing prescription opioid medications.

Muhammed Samer Nasher- Alneam is accused of writing prescriptions to patients who were suffering from opioid addiction. He was facing 14 counts of illegal drug distribution, two charges of distribution causing death, two charges of maintaining a drug-controlled premises and one count of international money laundering.  He had denied wrongdoing.

The Charleston Gazette-Mail reports jurors deliberated for four days before reporting that they had been unable to reach a verdict in the case.

U.S. Attorney Mike Stuart tweeted on Tuesday that federal prosecutors intend to have a new trial.

Nasher-Alneam operated the Neurology & Pain Center PLLC and his personal medical practice in Charleston.

Illinois
Man accused of ­providing gun used to kill ­mother of 3

CHICAGO (AP) — A Cook County judge has denied bail to a man accused of providing the gun used in a shooting that left a Chicago mother of three dead.

Prosecutors on Wednesday said Marco Zavala gave a gun to accomplice Bryant Mitchell, who on April 26 fired shots at rivals they observed selling marijuana from a car. The 23-year-old Mitchell missed his target and hit 36-year-old Candice Dickerson, who was shopping for a cellphone in a nearby store.

Prosecutors say surveillance video shows Mitchell flashing gang signs at the occupants of the auto. Mitchell is also seen pointing a gun at the auto and firing it.

Prosecutors say the 24-year-old Zavala, who is charged with first-degree murder, sold the gun after the shooting. On Tuesday, Mitchell was ordered held without bail on first-degree murder charges.

It wasn’t immediately known if Zavala has a lawyer.

Illinois
IT specialist ­convicted on cyber hacking charges ­sentenced

CHICAGO (AP) — A three-year prison sentence has been handed a man found guilty of hacking the servers of a northern Illinois company after he was fired.

Edward Soybel, a former computer technician for Lake Forest-based W.W. Grainger, was convicted by a federal jury in December of 12 counts of computer hacking. The 35-year-old Soybel of Chicago acted after the industrial supply company fired him in 2016 for “unprofessional conduct” and punctuality issues.

Soybel was awaiting trial when he shared a video online in which he threatened to shoot FBI agents, burn the houses of prosecution witnesses and kill the lead prosecutor.

Although Soybel never acted on his threats, U.S. District Judge Matthew Kennelly on Wednesday said he was imposing a harsher sentence than he otherwise would because of Soybel’s words.

Soybel’s attorney, Vadim Glozman, said his client’s outbursts were the culmination of mounting pressures in his life.

Ohio
Lawsuit accusing police of ­excessive force dismissed

CLEVELAND (AP) — A federal judge has dismissed a civil rights lawsuit accusing police in a Cleveland suburb of using excessive force.

Lamar Wright’s 2017 lawsuit against the city of Euclid said he stopped in a driveway to use his cellphone when two officers approached him with guns drawn. The lawsuit says they used a stun gun and pepper spray on the East Cleveland man without provocation before removing him from his vehicle.

The judge recently ruled Wright didn’t prove his rights were violated. He also ruled the officers had reasonable suspicion to approach Wright and his failure to obey police orders justified use of the stun gun and pepper spray.

Charges against Wright, including resisting arrest, were later dropped.

Wright’s attorney, Sarah Gelsomino, said Wednesday they will appeal.

New York
Former scout leader guilty of child ­pornography charges

BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) — A former Boy Scouts leader in western New York has pleaded guilty to possession of child pornography, including images of prepubescent children.

Federal prosecutors say 34-year-old Russell Ruth of Lyons pleaded guilty Wednesday before U.S. District Judge Frank Geraci in Buffalo. Ruth faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison when he’s sentenced on Aug. 7.

Ruth was arrested last June after Yahoo reported to authorities that he had uploaded child pornography files. Federal investigators searched his home and found more than 10,000 images and 600 videos of child pornography, including violent images.

Ruth was a longtime Boy Scout leader and worked as crafts director at a scout camp in Ovid, Seneca County.

Alaska
Man ­sentenced to 90 years for killing 4-year-old son

FAIRBANKS, Alaska (AP) — A 31-year-old North Pole man convicted of first-degree murder in the death of his 4-year-old son has been sentenced to 90 years in prison.

Christopher Sadowski was sentenced Monday.

The Fairbanks Daily News-Miner reports a jury in December deliberated just three hours before convicting Sadowski of killing Christopher Sadowski Jr.

The boy was found dead at home in May 2015. He was covered in bruises and had severe burns on his face and neck.

The state medical examiner determined the boy died of blunt force injuries and burns.

Sadowski testified his son was clumsy and often injured himself and that an accidental shower scalding caused the burns.
Assistant District Attorney Elizabeth Crail said Sadowski deliberately poured scalding water on his son to cover bruising he had caused.