|
|
|
Couple pleads guilty in Las Vegas surgery death
Criminal Law Updates |
2011/08/08 15:29
|
The teenage daughter of a Las Vegas woman who died after an illegal buttocks enhancement surgery said Thursday there will be no justice for her mother's death after prosecutors worked out a plea deal with the unlicensed doctor and nurse who performed the procedure. Janet Villalovos told The Associated Press she begged prosecutors not to allow Ruben Matallana-Galvas and Carmen Torres-Sanchez to plead guilty to reduced charges to avoid a trial in the death of 42-year-old Elena Caro. The husband and wife pleaded guilty to manslaughter, conspiracy and practicing medicine without a license Thursday in Las Vegas. They each face up to nine years in prison and fines of up to $12,000, but Caro's relatives expressed concern that the court would be lenient on the couple. Sentencing was scheduled for Oct. 6. Matallana-Galvas and Torres-Sanchez were running an illegal cosmetic surgery business in the back room of a Las Vegas tile shop when they injected Caro with an unknown substance, then showed her out the door in April, prosecutors said. She was found hours later roaming the streets in agony miles from the makeshift clinic. An autopsy showed Caro died from an allergic reaction to the anesthesia commonly used in cosmetic surgery procedures. Matallana-Galvas' lawyer Scott Coffee said the unlicensed doctor wanted to plead guilty to accept responsibility for not providing Caro with better care. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
DeMocker defense says former lawyer will keep mum
Criminal Law Updates |
2011/08/01 13:35
|
Lawyers for a Prescott stockbroker facing a murder retrial say they won't allow his former defense attorney to give a deposition in the case.
John Sears is one of two attorneys who quit Steven DeMocker's case in October, citing a conflict of interest. The move triggered a mistrial in November.
Deputy Yavapai County Attorney Jeffrey Paupore filed a motion last week that Sears be deposed as a material witness.
But DeMocker's current lawyer says any communications between Sears and DeMocker remains confidential and privileged.
The 56-year-old DeMocker is accused of killing his ex-wife, Carol Kennedy, with a golf club in July 2008 to avoid paying hefty alimony bills. He faces a life sentence if convicted. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Trial won't feature unreleased Jackson footage
Criminal Law Updates |
2011/07/26 09:00
|
Jurors in the Michael Jackson manslaughter case will not watch previously unseen footage from the singer's final rehearsals to determine the state of his health before his death, a judge ruled Monday.
Superior Court Judge Michael Pastor agreed with the characterization of a defense attorney for Dr. Conrad Murray that more than 100 hours of rehearsal footage condensed into the film "This Is It" did not show the singer in poor health.
Pastor also agreed with attorneys for Sony Pictures Entertainment that the clips have significant value and should not be publicly shown without a good reason.
"There is absolutely nothing in those materials that could have been of assistance to the defense," Pastor said.
The judge reviewed several hours of the footage last week then canceled plans to travel to Sony Studios over the weekend to finish watching the rest of the film that attorneys wanted to use during the upcoming trial of Murray. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Court denies motion to stop Loughner medication
Criminal Law Updates |
2011/07/25 10:02
|
A federal court Friday night denied an emergency motion by defense lawyers to keep prison officials in Missouri from forcibly medicating the Tucson shooting rampage suspect with a psychotropic drug.
In a one-page ruling, judges from the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals also denied a request by Jared Lee Loughner's attorneys for daily reports about his condition at a federal prison facility in Springfield, Mo.
The judges said their denial is without prejudice to the defense seeking appropriate relief in the district court. The 9th Circuit had previously scheduled an Aug. 30 hearing in San Francisco on an appeal by Loughner's lawyers over forced medication. It wasn't immediately clear if that hearing will still be held.
Calls to lead Loughner attorney Judy Clarke for comment Friday night weren't immediately returned.
Federal prosecutors said in a filing earlier Friday that Loughner should remain medicated because he may be a danger to himself and his mental and physical condition was rapidly deteriorating.
Loughner's attorneys questioned Thursday whether the forced medication violates an earlier order by the 9th Circuit that forbid prison officials from involuntarily medicating Loughner as the court mulls an appeal on his behalf. They also said their client has been on 24-hour suicide watch.
U.S. Attorney for Arizona Dennis Burke wrote in his filing Friday that "despite being under suicide watch, Loughner's unmedicated behavior is endangering him and that no measure short of medication will protect him from himself more than temporarily because they do not address the mental state which underlies his self-destructive actions." |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Paralegal accused of stealing from law firm
Criminal Law Updates |
2011/07/20 10:35
|
Authorities say a South Florida paralegal stole hundreds of thousands of dollars from her Fort Lauderdale law firm.
Miami-Dade officials on Tuesday charged 53-year-old Brenda Wilcott-Kelly with more than 80 felonies, including grand theft and forging documents. Records show she's also took money from a lawyer who was on his deathbed.
Employees of Hermelee & Geffin were in court Tuesday as Judge Dennis Murphy set Wilcott-Kelly's bond at $116,000.
Defense attorney Morgan Cronin said his client is innocent.
According to the arrest affidavit, Wilcott-Kelly took $82,472 from the firm to pay off her husband's credit cards. She is also accused of stealing $31,050 from lawyer Steven A. Schultz, while he was in the hospital. Schultz leased space from the firm. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
DC killing suspect escapes by switching identities
Criminal Law Updates |
2011/07/18 15:17
|
Authorities searched Saturday for a man charged with first-degree murder who allegedly swapped identities with another prisoner and walked out of a Washington courthouse. U.S. Marshals spokesman David Neumann said officials are looking for 24-year-old James Brewer, a suspect in a fatal shooting in Washington in June. Neumann said authorities are still investigating how Brewer escaped Friday. D.C. Superior Court records, however, say that before Brewer was called before a judge, he switched identification bracelets with a prisoner arrested on a drug charge. Brewer then apparently posed as the other person and was released because the charge, possession of PCP, is a misdemeanor. Brewer is described as a black man, 5 feet, 9 inches tall, about 180 pounds with dreadlocks. Brewer, who also goes by "Sticky," is considered armed and dangerous. Officials say he is known to travel to Newport News, Va., where he was arrested Thursday. He may also be interested in traveling to Philadelphia. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Recent Lawyer News Updates |
|
|
Lawyer News RSS
