DRIVER GETS LIFE TERM FOR CRASH THAT KILLED TRANSPLANT SURVIVOR
excerpts from an article by Larry Welborn – The Orange County (CA) Register

An Orange man with seven prior felony convictions was sentenced to 35 years to life in prison Friday for vehicular manslaughter in the death of a liver-transplant survivor whose car was rammed from behind while idling at a red light.

Superior Court Judge David A. Thompson handed down that punishment to Danny Lewis Malone, 56, after he listened to poignant victim-impact statements from relatives of Nicholas Russell, who was 18 when he died after a mid-day crash in Stanton on March 11, 2006.

“Our family was left with a hole in our hearts and an emptiness that nobody would know unless they have gone through a similar loss,” said Patti Russell, Nicholas’ aunt. “There are a million reminders of Nicholas every day, everywhere, and we continue to wish that losing him was a bad dream that we will soon awaken from.”

EX-LA FIRE OFFICIAL SENTENCED TO 90 DAYS FOR DOG BEATING
excerpts of an article from the Riverside (CA) News Network

A retired Los Angeles County assistant fire chief who beat a neighbor’s 6-month-old puppy so badly that the animal had to be euthanized was sentenced today to 90 days weekend jail time and three years probation.

Glynn Demon Johnson, 55, could have received a maximum of four years in state prison for his conviction on felony animal cruelty, with a sentence-enhancing allegation of using a deadly weapon in the commission of a felony.

Superior Court Judge J. Thompson Hanks apparently opted for leniency because the defendant has no prior criminal history.

A Riverside jury spent barely three hours deliberating before finding Johnson guilty on Jan. 26.

HERNANDEZ GUILTY ON ALL CHARGES
excerpts from an article by Carlos Illescas – The Denver Post

CENTENNIAL — Arapahoe County jurors today returned guilty verdicts in 18 criminal charges against Francis Hernandez, the man accused of causing a car accident that killed three people in 2008.

Hernandez was charged with 19 criminal counts, including vehicular homicide, leaving the scene of an accident involving death, and child abuse resulting in death related to the deadly crash at an Aurora Baskin-Robbins shop.

After the verdict, Arapahoe County District Court Judge John Wheeler found Hernandez guilty of the 19th charge, driving while under restraint, in a trial before the court.

Hernandez faces more than 100 years in prison if Wheeler sentences him to consecutive terms on April 5.

ADULT TRIAL FOR BOY IN DEATH OF PENNSYLVANIA WOMAN, FETUS
excerpts of an article by Joe Mandack – The Associated Press

March 29, 2010 — A Pennsylvania boy who was 11 when he was accused of killing his father’s pregnant fiancee with a shotgun blast to the back of her head as she lay in bed will be tried as an adult in the death of both the woman and the fetus, a judge ruled Monday.

Jordan Brown, now 12, is charged with criminal homicide in the death of 26-year-old Kenzie Marie Houk in their farmhouse in New Galilee, in western Pennsylvania, on Feb. 20, 2009. Houk was 8 1/2 months pregnant; the male fetus died from a resulting lack of oxygen.

ROOFING CONTRACTOR CONVICTED IN CALIFORNIA’S LARGEST PREMIUM INSURANCE FRAUD SCAM

Released by The Orange County District Attorney’s Office

02/11/2010 — A roofing contractor was convicted today of committing premium insurance fraud with his wife, in one of the largest known Workers’ Compensation Insurance fraud case in California’s history. Michael Vincent Petronella, also known as Michael Constantine, 51, was found guilty by a jury of 33 felony counts of insurance fraud and the sentencing enhancement for aggravated white collar crime over $500,000 was found true. The defendant now faces a sentence ranging from probation up to 48 years and eight months in state prison at his sentencing on April 23, 2010, at 9:00 a.m. in Department C-42, Central Justice Center, Santa Ana. Restitution will be determined at a later date.

PAUL WARNER POWELL EXECUTED FOR MURDER
excerpts of an article by Josh White – The Washington Post

Kristie Reed was on the basement floor, her throat and wrists slashed. Her older sister, Stacie, was upstairs, dead from a stab wound to the heart. When police reached Kristie, who was then 14 years old, an officer leaned in and asked who had done this to her. Kristie mouthed two words: “Paul Powell.”

More than 11 years later, Paul Warner Powell, 31, was executed in Virginia’s electric chair Thursday night. He was declared dead at 9:09. The Jan. 29, 1999, murder of one sister and the rape and near-slaying of the other in Manassas were among the most notorious crimes in the region’s recent history.

Besides the savage attack, the case was known for Powell’s boastful jailhouse letter to Prince William County’s chief prosecutor, which provided the crucial evidence that resulted in Thursday’s execution.

LOTTERY ASSAULT LEADS TO THREE YEAR SENTENCE
excerpts from an article in the Anchorage (AK) Daily News

May 19, 2009–The man accused of attacking the winner of Alaska’s biggest lottery with a metal pipe or rod pleaded guilty this week to a reduced charge of second-degree assault, a prosecutor said. Brandon Hughes, a 20-year-old from the Los Angeles area, was sentenced to three years in prison under a plea bargain, said prosecutor Clint Campion.

Hughes will be eligible for parole and time off for good behavior, which is usually about one-third of the sentence.

Anchorage Superior Court Judge Patrick McKay accepted the plea and sentenced Hughes on Monday.

TUCSON MAN ACQUITTED OF 1ST DEGREE MURDER IN STARVING DEATH OF NEWBORN
excerpts of an article by Kim Smith – The Arizona Daily Star

A Tucson man accused of starving his newborn baby to death was acquitted of first-degree murder Thursday and was convicted of reckless child abuse, a probation-eligible offense.

Scott Sullivan’s daughter, Kimberlie, was born on July 14, 2008, weighing 7 pounds, 12 ounces and died Aug. 30, 2008, weighing 5 pounds, 7 ounces.

Her mother, Terri Sullivan, 27, pleaded guilty to child abuse and first-degree murder and is now serving a life sentence with parole possible after 25 years.

The jury found that Sullivan’s wife was responsible for the child’s death.

Defense attorney Dan Cooper said he told jurors the evidence showed Scott Sullivan, 28, was oblivious to Kimberlie’s declining health because he was rarely home and when he was, he was exhausted.