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Arkansas funeral home pleads guilty over stacked bodies
Topics |
2016/04/24 17:12
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The company that owns an Arkansas funeral home where bodies were found stacked on top of each other in unrefrigerated areas pleaded guilty Friday after felony charges were dropped against the father and son who own the business.
Arkansas Funeral Care pleaded guilty in Pulaski County Circuit Court to five felony counts of abuse of a corpse after 13 abuse of corpse charges were dismissed against LeRoy Wood and Rod Wood. The plea agreement finalized days before a trial scheduled for Monday also dropped eight corpse abuse charges against the Jacksonville funeral home.
The company faces up to $100,000 in fines during a sentencing hearing scheduled for May 19.
LeRoy Wood's attorney, Dustin McDaniel, said "none of it was on purpose" and his client "hopes the families of the loved ones who were involved in this know how deeply sad he is that any of this had happened."
"We are at the same time deeply gratified that the state has dropped the charges against them individually," McDaniel said.
The funeral home's license was suspended last year after the state licensing agency investigated complaints by a former employee and found a cooler "filled beyond capacity with bodies" and bodies "stacked on top of each other." Investigators removed 31 bodies and 22 cremated remains from the business.
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JetBlue attendant pleads not guilty to cocaine charge
Legal Interview |
2016/04/24 17:11
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A JetBlue flight attendant accused of trying to sneak a suitcase full of cocaine through Los Angeles International Airport has pleaded not guilty to a federal charge.
City News Service says Marsha Gay Reynolds entered the plea Friday to possessing cocaine with intent to distribute.
Authorities say during a random security screening at LAX in March, the former Jamaican beauty queen left her carry-on luggage, kicked off her Gucci high heels and bolted down an upward-moving escalator.
Authorities found about 70 pounds of cocaine in her luggage. Reynolds, who lives in Queens, later surrendered in New York. If convicted, she faces 10 years in prison.
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High court nominee praises lawyers for helping the poor
Blog News |
2016/04/23 17:12
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Supreme Court nominee Merrick Garland praised lawyers for their work with low-income Washingtonians Thursday in his first public remarks since his nomination last month.
Garland was on familiar turf, speaking at the federal courthouse in Washington, where he is chief judge of the appeals court.
Giving people living in poverty access to the courts is critical for society, Garland said. "Without equal justice under law," Garland said, using the phrase engraved above the entrance to the Supreme Court, "faith in the rule of the law, the foundation of our civil society, is at risk."
Garland's nomination is stalled in the Senate, where GOP leaders say the next president should choose the replacement for the late Justice Antonin Scalia. He has met with roughly 40 senators so far, with no sign that Republicans will allow hearings on his nomination, much less a vote.
At those meetings, Garland has typically said nothing for public consumption.
His appearance Thursday was part of the White House's effort to familiarize the country with the nominee by having him speak on a noncontroversial topic, free legal assistance for the poor.
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Stoddard firefighter charged with arson due in court
Topics |
2016/04/23 17:11
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A volunteer firefighter charged with arson in connection with a brush fire that burned 190 acres in New Hampshire and prompted the evacuation of 17 homes is due to make his first court appearance.
David Plante is scheduled to be arraigned Monday in Keene.
The 31-year-old Stoddard man was charged Friday with one count of arson, but more charges are expected. He remains in custody after refusing to meet with a bail commissioner.
The fire started Thursday in Stoddard, about 40 miles west of the state capital of Concord. No injuries were reported.
Police have not said what evidence led them to Plante. It's unclear if he has an attorney.
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