| Blog and Media Roundup - Saturday, October 23, 2010; News Roundup | |
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| Tweet Topic Started: Oct 23 2010, 03:57 AM (293 Views) | |
| abb | Oct 23 2010, 03:57 AM Post #1 |
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http://www.heraldsun.com/view/full_story/10017604/article-DNA-link-leads-to-cold-case-arrest?instance=main_article DNA link leads to cold case arrest The Herald Sun 10.22.10 - 08:32 pm BY BETH VELLIQUETTTE bvelliquette@heraldsun.com; 419-6632 CARRBORO -- The Carrboro Police Department charged an Alamance County man with first-degree rape Thursday for an attack that occurred in March 2006. Police charged Frank Cruz, 33, of 224 Rolling Road, Burlington, with first-degree rape, first-degree burglary, assault on a female, communicating threats, sex offense and first-degree kidnapping. A woman was in her apartment in early March of 2006 when a man broke in during the night, held her against her will, then threatened, assaulted and raped her, said Investigator Chris Atack of the Carrboro Police Department. The woman did not know the man, Atack said. After the man left her apartment, the woman called police about 3:30 a.m., and she was transported to UNC Hospitals, where a rape kit was taken. The DNA of her attacker was put into an FBI database, but it did not match anyone in the database, Atack said. However, in Alamance County, Cruz voluntarily submitted his DNA on a 2008 or 2009 case that the Alamance County Sheriff's Office was investigating, and when that sample was put in the same database, it came back at a very high probability as a match to the DNA sample from the 2006 rape in Carrboro, Atack said. On Thursday, an Alamance County sheriff's investigator who was familiar with Cruz asked him to stop by the office, and when he did, Carrboro Police placed him under arrest. Cruz made a first appearance in Orange County District Court Friday afternoon. He was being held under a $150,000 bond, but at the request of the Orange County District Attorney's Office, Chief District Court Judge Joe Buckner raised his bond to $1 million. |
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| abb | Oct 23 2010, 04:03 AM Post #2 |
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http://www.heraldsun.com/view/full_story/10018604/article-Perdue--Feds-probing-campaign?instance=homefirstleft Perdue: Feds probing campaign The Herald Sun 10.22.10 - 10:19 pm Associated Press | file photo by Dave Martin<br> North Carolina Gov. Beverly Perdue answers questions during a discussion of offshore drilling during the Southern Governors Association meeting in Hoover, Ala., Aug. 30. State Dems chairman questions timing of investigation, just ahead of Election Day By MIKE BAKER Associated Press RALEIGH -- Gov. Beverly Perdue said Friday that federal authorities are now investigating her 2008 campaign for governor, the third election-related probe to involve North Carolina's chief executive since she took office less than two years ago. Perdue said in a statement issued through a campaign spokesman that she is proud of her record. "As a citizen, a candidate for public office, and an elected official of this state, I have tried my best to abide by all applicable laws, and my administration has been one of the most open in history," Perdue said. She said it would be inappropriate to make any additional comments about the probe. The investigation opens up another layer of scrutiny for prominent Democrats in the state. Federal authorities started investigating former Gov. Mike Easley shortly after he left office in early 2009, and a local prosecutor reviewing a separate case involving Easley said he hopes to soon decide if he'll pursue criminal charges. Investigators, meanwhile, recently sent a fresh round of subpoenas in the case of former North Carolina senator and presidential candidate John Edwards. Andrew Whalen, executive director of the North Carolina Democratic Party, questioned the timing of the Perdue announcement, coming just days before a crucial election. He noted that U.S. Attorney George Holding is a Republican appointee. "The timing of these events would lead any reasonable person to have serious questions about this new investigation," Whalen said. A spokeswoman for Holding said she couldn't comment. However, North Carolina's State Bureau of Investigation also recently opened its own probe into Perdue after the district attorney in Wake County, a Democrat, said he had lingering questions about her campaign's airplane flights. North Carolina Republican Party chairman Tom Fetzer said in a statement that the party believed all along it would take a criminal investigation to get to the truth. "We still stand by our assertions that Governor Perdue and her campaign broke laws and attempted to cover up their actions with lies," Fetzer said. The State Board of Elections fined Perdue's campaign $30,000 in August for failing to report in a timely fashion private flights going back to 2005. A majority of the board determined that no deliberate effort to break the law, a conclusion that angered Republicans. Perdue issued the statement shortly after The News & Observer of Raleigh reported about the probe. The governor and her staff have said for the past year that an internal review found the unreported flights and that the campaign voluntarily reported the potential problems to the elections board. But the board found that the campaign had information on 37 flights in mid-2007 but only reported 18 of them before Election Day of the following year. Perdue's committee attorney couldn't explain why the |
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| abb | Oct 23 2010, 04:07 AM Post #3 |
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http://www.newsobserver.com/2010/10/23/756336/feds-probing-perdues-08-run.html Published Sat, Oct 23, 2010 02:00 AM Modified Sat, Oct 23, 2010 03:59 AM Feds probing Perdue's '08 run RALEIGH The campaign of Gov. Bev Perdue is the subject of a federal criminal investigation. Perdue released a written statement Friday shortly after The News & Observer reported that federal grand jury subpoenas had been issued to people connected to her 2008 run for the state's highest elected office. "I have just learned that there is a federal investigation into my campaign for governor," Perdue said, according to the statement. "As a citizen, a candidate for public office, and an elected official of this state, I have tried my best to abide by all applicable laws, and my administration has been one of the most open in history. I am proud of my record ... . " Confirmation of the federal probe comes three weeks after Wake County District Attorney Colon Willoughby disclosed that he had asked the State Bureau of Investigation to examine issues related to the financing of Perdue's 2008 campaign. Just 10 days before an election to determine control of the state legislature, questions about potential criminal activity involving people close to the Democratic governor arise at an inopportune time for her party. Rumors have swirled in the capital for more than a year about a federal corruption investigation of Perdue's immediate predecessor, Gov. Mike Easley. Perdue has repeatedly tried to distance herself from Easley's troubles. A spokeswoman for U.S. Attorney George Holding said Friday that she could not confirm or deny that any subpoenas had been issued for people tied to Perdue. Holding is a Republican appointed by President George W. Bush, and the N.C. Democratic Party wasted no time Friday suggesting that any criminal investigation involving the sitting governor is politically motivated. "Eleven days before a crucial election affecting the direction of our nation and state, we have learned that the Republican U.S. Attorney has apparently chosen to serve subpoenas and open yet another investigation into a Democratic elected official," said Andrew Whalen, the executive director of the state's Democrats. "The timing of these events would lead any reasonable person to have serious questions about this new investigation." DA complains News of the federal investigation broke after Willoughby said potential witnesses contacted in his investigation had received orders to appear before the federal grand jury. Willoughby, who would not identify the individuals subpoenaed, said Holding's office had no communication with him before issuing the subpoenas. He said that as a result of the federal subpoenas, witnesses who had been speaking voluntarily to state investigators have clammed up. "The federal subpoenas are hampering my investigation," said Willoughby, a Democrat. "I'm a bit disappointed that this has happened this way. ... [W]ithout any warning, bombs start falling and people start heading for cover. These witnesses were talking to us before they got the subpoenas. It has had a chilling effect." Willoughby is investigating the failure of Perdue's campaign to properly disclose 42 flights she took on private aircraft provided by donors, as well as other issues involving campaign finance reports he said "appeared out of the ordinary." Efforts on Friday to reach former Perdue chief of staff Zach Ambrose, campaign treasurer Oscar Harris and key fundraiser Peter Reichard were unsuccessful. Easley aide takes plea In January, a federal grand jury in Raleigh indicted former Easley aide Ruffin Poole on 57 corruption charges. Poole was allowed to plead guilty in March to a single count of income-tax evasion in a deal with prosecutors that could allow him to avoid a prison sentence. That was widely interpreted as an indication that he is cooperating with federal investigators. Ambrose, who also served as Perdue's campaign manager in 2008, resigned from her staff the same day Poole was indicted, saying he wanted to spend more time with his family. For much of the last year, Perdue, her lawyer and campaign officials have said that the failure to report her flights on private aircraft was the result of poor record-keeping. But a report in August by Kim Westbrook Strach, the lead investigator at the State Board of Elections, detailed a spring 2007 meeting between Ambrose and Will Polk, then Perdue's chief legal adviser in the lieutenant governor's office. They talked at length about how to report campaign flights properly. According to Polk, who was interviewed as part of the elections board investigation, Ambrose created a template for a spreadsheet to track each flight. As the campaign progressed, flights were logged into that master spreadsheet. Some donors at limit Some of those flights were provided by donors who had already given Perdue the maximum $4,000 contribution allowed for that election. Perdue's campaign failed to publicly disclose many of those flights until 2009, after reports surfaced about unreported flights provided to Easley. Last year the state elections board fined his campaign $100,000. In a split decision days after Strach issued the report, the elections board fined Perdue's campaign $30,000 over the unreported flights. But the board's Democratic majority killed a push by Republican members to seek a criminal investigation, impose a larger fine or question Ambrose and other members of the governor's campaign staff under oath. As governor, Perdue appoints the elections board. The board's decision was roundly criticized by Tom Fetzer, the chairman of the N.C. Republican Party. He released a statement Friday praising both the Wake district attorney and the U.S. attorney for pushing ahead with probes of Perdue. "We have believed all along that it would take a criminal investigation to get to the truth," Fetzer said. "We still stand by our assertions that Gov. Perdue and her campaign broke laws and attempted to cover-up their actions with lies." Staff writer Rob Christensen contributed to this report. michael.biesecker@newsobserver.com or 919-829-4698 |
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| abb | Oct 23 2010, 04:07 AM Post #4 |
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http://www.newsobserver.com/2010/10/23/756327/agents-identified-in-unc-probe.html Published Sat, Oct 23, 2010 03:55 AM Modified Sat, Oct 23, 2010 01:11 AM Agents identified in UNC probe Three people associated with agents or financial advisers provided benefits, including hotel rooms, meals and access to a pool party, to UNC football players who broke NCAA rules, new records show. The documents, released Friday afternoon after weeks of requests from The News & Observer and the Charlotte Observer, were heavily redacted by UNC lawyers who cited a federal privacy law that keeps student educational records private. As a result, the 19 pages do not specifically detail which players received which benefits. Still, the records and interviews shed more light on the crisis that has surrounded UNC's football program since the summer, when concerns about agents providing benefits to players - which is forbidden - brought NCAA investigators to Chapel Hill. Since then, the university has acknowledged academic misconduct violations as well. In all, 14 players have missed some or all of the season. The program's second-in-command, top recruiter and associate head coach John Blake, resigned amid questions about receiving money from an agent. Head coach Butch Davis has said he won't resign. And three players are no longer eligible to play in college: Marvin Austin, Greg Little and Robert Quinn, all projected to be selected in next spring's NFL draft. Last week, the NCAA said that Little and Quinn had lied to its investigators and that the players took trips, jewelry and more worth a combined $10,000. The NCAA banned them from college play after receiving reports from UNC. UNC said Austin accepted more than $10,000 in benefits and kicked him out of the program without submitting information about him to the NCAA. But until Friday, the NCAA and UNC had declined to say who provided the benefits. UNC switched course after continued efforts by The N&O and the Observer to force their release. The NCAA still refuses to release records on the agents, saying it doesn't have jurisdiction over them. The N.C. Secretary of State's office enforces a state agent-registration law, and the state agency has acknowledged opening a criminal probe that could lead to felony charges. 3 agents named The new documents appear to include five letters to the NCAA that report violations of NCAA rules. In addition to naming three people who provided benefits, the documents also mention four meetings at local restaurants in which dinners were paid for by financial advisers. But it does not name the advisers. A UNC spokeswoman said she could not clarify that. "We have not submitted any documents to the NCAA that reference agents or prospective agents other than those named in the attached letters," vice chancellor Nancy Davis said. The documents say that agent-related benefits were provided by: Chris Hawkins, a former UNC football player who the documents say is considered a "runner" for agents or advisers. A runner is someone who befriends players and helps recruit them for others. Hawkins is mentioned in three of the violation letters to the NCAA as providing "minimal" benefits, though a separate letter describes more extensive involvement. The additional document is a letter to Hawkins from UNC athletic director Dick Baddour that says UNC is "taking formal action to disassociate" Hawkins from the program, banning him from contact with any athletes for five years. Hawkins said in an interview that he was only trying to help friends and players who were being bombarded by agents and others, and that he was not paid by anyone to secure players. Todd Stewart, who is believed to be from Washington, D.C. Stewart is described in one of the NCAA violation letters as a prospective agent because of "self-identified ties with a financial advising firm." The documents say that Stewart booked and paid for hotel rooms. After a lengthy section that is blanked out, the documents say "it has been determined that these costs" were paid by Stewart. Stewart could not be reached on Friday. Stewart has told ESPN that he was contacted by the NCAA, and he acknowledged that he was at a party with players in South Florida this year. "There were parties and they were popular," Stewart told ESPN. "But it wasn't some conspiracy to get players for sports agents." It's not clear if he was asked by ESPN whether he provided benefits to players. Michael Katz, director of marketing and client services for Rosenhaus Sports, which has the largest number of NFL clients. Two of the NCAA violation letters say Katz provided wristbands that granted access to a pool party. The documents do not say more about that, including specifically whether that action triggers a violation. Previous reports have shown Austin and Little at a South Florida pool party. Katz could not immediately be reached. The agency where he works is owned by brothers Drew and Jason Rosenhaus. Jason Rosenhaus, the vice chairman of the agency, took information from a reporter on the situation Friday but declined to comment. Agency chairman Drew Rosenhaus told the Sports Business Journal that his employee assured him the allegations were false. "At no time did my employee provide any benefits to any college player," Rosenhaus said in a quote posted on a Sports Business Journal reporter's Twitter account. Katz's involvement marks at least the second time the agency had contact with a North Carolina player during the offseason. Davis, in his fourth year as head coach, recently confirmed in an interview for The N&O and Observer that he became aware while on vacation that Drew Rosenhaus was at Kenan Stadium meeting with a player and the meeting was broken up. "The individual that told me that said that he asked the player to go ahead and leave, and that he asked Drew Rosenhaus to leave," Davis said. Davis declined to identify the player or who intervened in the contact, which occurred in June. It would not have been against NCAA rules for Rosenhaus to meet with the player because UNC says the player was a rising senior. That means it wouldn't have violated NFL Players Association rules, either. Rosenhaus is registered with the N.C. Secretary of State as an athlete agent. Impermissible benefits Besides the troubles surrounding Austin, Little and Quinn, two other players - Kendric Burney and Deunta Williams - have been suspended for accepting trips. Burney took trips to Atlanta, Las Vegas and California, and Williams made two trips to California. Although both players paid for part of their travel expenses, the NCAA ruled that there were other benefits, and they had to make donations to charity. Williams has said former UNC defensive back Omar Brown - who's not known to be associated with a sports agent - provided the impermissible benefits that led to his four-game suspension. Burney's father, Tyrone Burney, has said Kendric's association with Hawkins led to his suspension. Burney initially was suspended for six games but remains withheld from a seventh game, to be played today at Miami. Burney's Twitter page identified current defensive back Charles Brown as traveling to Atlanta with Burney and Hawkins, and that running back Shaun Draughn met them when they arrived. Brown is out for the season. Draughn was withheld from one game. Two other players - Jonathan Smith and Brian Gupton - are out for the season, but it's unclear whether their violations were related to academics or agents. The other players who have missed games are: Michael McAdoo, who has yet to play; Ryan Houston, who has been cleared after missing five games and might sit out the rest of the season without losing a year of eligibility, commonly known as redshirting; Linwan Euwell, who was held out of five games; Da'Norris Searcy, who missed three games; and Devon Ramsay, who played in the first four games but has been withheld since. The documents include the letter from Baddour to Hawkins, dated the week before the NCAA banned Little and Quinn. Hawkins played defensive back for the Tar Heels from 2001 to 2003 and was dismissed from the program in April 2004 for a team rule violation. Hawkins has said he became friendly with Tar Heels players while visiting the team's weight room with Willie Parker, who was a teammate of Hawkins' at UNC and went on to win two Super Bowls as a Pittsburgh Steelers running back. The documents outline four ways that Baddour says Hawkins' "recent involvement with our student-athletes has led to the suspension of some ... and placed them at risk of losing their NCAA eligibility." Baddour wrote that UNC developed information indicating Hawkins "may have" provided impermissible benefits; arranged for meetings with agents; offered to purchase gear and memorabilia from players; and stated to agents and financial advisers that he represented players. Hawkins is also connected to Georgia wide receiver A.J. Green, who was suspended for four games for selling a bowl game jersey to Hawkins for $1,000. For at least five years, UNC will not allow him to have any athletic benefit or privilege that is not available to the general public. The school has prohibited Hawkins from communicating with current or prospective athletes, and from accessing the Kenan Football Center or other athletic facilities at any time. Staff researcher Brooke Cain contributed to this report. andrew.curliss@newsobserver.com or 919-829-4840 |
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| chatham | Oct 23 2010, 08:13 AM Post #5 |
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weasel zippers has ots of good stuff http://gatewaypundit.firstthings.com/2010/10/stunner-seiu-offshoot-mi-familia-vota-caught-with-6000-bogus-colorado-voter-registrations/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+gatewaypundit2+%28Gateway+Pundit%29 Stunner. SEIU Offshoot ‘Mi Familia Vota’ Caught With 6,000 Bogus Colorado Voter Registrations Posted by Jim Hoft on Friday, October 22, 2010, 5:15 PM http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1010/44032.html Suddenly Vulnerable Dem Rep. Raul Grijalva Faking a Hate Crime?… http://bigjournalism.com/abreitbart/2010/10/22/washington-post-blockbuster-confirms-worst-fears-about-holder-justice-dept-race-policies/ Washington Post Blockbuster Confirms Worst Fears About Holder Justice Dept. Race Policies ....and more... |
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| abb | Oct 23 2010, 02:15 PM Post #6 |
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http://www.newsobserver.com/2010/10/23/756313/juvenile-justice-forum-set-in.html Published Sat, Oct 23, 2010 04:14 AM Modified Sat, Oct 23, 2010 12:46 AM Juvenile justice forum set in Durham today Child advocacy groups pushing North Carolina to join the rest of the nation in treating miscreant 16- and 17-year-olds as juveniles rather than adults will hold a public forum in Durham this afternoon. Action for Children North Carolina and Covenant with North Carolina's Children, both based in Raleigh, are sponsoring the event. Panelists will discuss recidivism rates, childhood brain development and differences between the state's adult and juvenile justice systems. North Carolina is the only state that treats all 16- and 17-year-olds as adults when they commit crimes, with no legal option to be processed as juveniles. "This is counterproductive for our young people," said Brandy Bynum, director of policy and outreach for Action for Children North Carolina. The legislature has created a study commission to determine what legal and logistical measures would be required to move most 16- and 17-year-old offenders into the juvenile justice system, and what it would cost. Under a bill expected to be introduced in the 2011 session, which begins in January, the most violent offenders -- fewer than 10 percent of those arrested in that age group -- would still be processed through adult courts. Rep. Alice Bordsen, a Democrat from Alamance County, said North Carolina's policy dates to the 1910s, when there was a nationwide movement to stop sending children as young as 10 to prison. Originally, Bordsen said, legislators set the age of adulthood for the purpose of prosecution at 18, but when the bill came to a vote, the age was dropped to 16. In the decades since, advocates say, brain-development research has shown that many 16- and 17-year-olds cannot make rational decisions that take into account future consequences. If they make the wrong choices and get arrested, first-time offenders can end up with felony convictions and criminal records that follow them their whole lives. Dozens of students in Bordsen's district learned that lesson five years ago when Alamance County school officials and local law enforcement launched a crackdown on small-scale drug use by students. Unlike a similar operation in Wake County, where district attorneys used deferred prosecution where possible, giving offenders the chance to correct their behavior, the Alamance students were told to take pleas or show up in adult court and expect harsh treatment. About half those charged had never been in trouble before, Bordsen said. "You had kids walk away from that with three felony convictions," Bordsen said. In neighboring states, the same offenses would have been misdemeanors, and the offenders' records would not be public. The legislature's bipartisan Youth Accountability Task Force, which includes lawmakers, judges, police, public defenders, treatment providers and others, has recommended the state make the change. Gregg Stahl, senior deputy director of the Administrative Office of the Courts and a member of the task force, said studies show that recidivism rates for youthful offenders are lower for those who go through age-appropriate treatment programs. When they do commit crimes again, the offenses tend to be less serious. Getting 16- and 17-year-old offenders into those programs would come with costs, which the task force is also considering. Arresting officers would need time to track down parents or guardians, something not required in adult court. Night court officers would need training in juvenile proceedings, and additional judges would be needed to handle the cases, which take longer than adult trials. The state would have to hire more juvenile probation officers and expand juvenile detention facilities and treatment programs. Opponents of changing the policy have said offenders deserve punishment, not treatment. Advocates of the change say treatment programs require more intense supervision than adult courts can provide and offer the best chance at rehabilitation, saving the public the future costs of crime and imprisonment. The forum will be at the Durham County Public Library auditorium, 300 N. Roxboro St., from 2:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. martha.quillin@newsobserver.com or 919-829-8989 |
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| abb | Oct 23 2010, 06:30 PM Post #7 |
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http://www.thetowntalk.com/article/20101023/NEWS01/10230314/Expert-testifies-in-Winnfield-trial-that-Taser-killed-Pikes Expert testifies in Winnfield trial that Taser killed Pikes By Billy Gunn • bgunn@thetowntalk.com • October 23, 2010 WINNFIELD -- Barron "Scooter" Pikes lay incoherent on the floor of the police station, eyes wide, mumbling, "I wanna go home," and "Somebody help me," with froth on his lips. Winnfield Police officers, whom Pikes reportedly told he'd done crack cocaine and PCP, offered bad suggestions: "I wish we had a cart, we could put him in the hole," and "Somebody get a wheelbarrow." Among the voices heard on a video of the scene talking to Pikes as he lay on the floor was Scott Nugent, who at the time was a police officer. Nugent is now a former police officer on trial for manslaughter in connection with Pikes' death. "Get up, Barron, the ambulance is on the way. Come on, get up," said Nugent, who later drove the ambulance to Winn Medical Center while two paramedics tried to revive Pikes. The suspect who officers thought was a drug addict too high for conversation and standing upright turned out to be a young man dying in front of their eyes. What the trial of Nugent, 24, is about is whether Nugent's eight or nine shocks to Pikes with a Taser led to the 21-year-old felon's heart stopping. Friday was the second day of testimony in Nugent's manslaughter trial in the death of Pikes, whom some in Winnfield called Barron Collins, the name of Pikes' father. Pikes was wanted on a felony warrant when Nugent and other officers saw him just after lunch on Jan. 17, 2008, chased him and then handcuffed him. Nugent, in 14 to 15 minutes, used a Tasing technique called a "drive stun" eight or nine times as a way to get Pikes off the ground and into a police car. Witnesses and lawyers said Pikes was afraid of going to jail. The video, which defense attorneys wanted kept out of the trial, came almost at the end of a day full of testimony and sometimes testy back and forth between one of Nugent's attorneys, Jerry Glas, who also represents Taser International, and one of the state's expert witnesses -- renowned medical examiner Michael Baden from New York City. Baden, who was featured in the HBO series "Autopsy," said there was no other way to explain a healthy young man dying of cardiac arrest than to rule it came from a Taser stun gun. "He was healthy. He was Tasered. He died," Baden said. "There was no other reason for his death." Glas tried to poke holes in Baden's reasoning -- and thereby try to set up reasonable doubt in the minds of 12 jurors and two alternates -- by saying the way the Taser works is administering pain with electricity in a localized area of the body not near the heart. He said Baden's theory of Pikes' cardiac arrest about 15 minutes after the last Taser shock was unfounded. Baden at one point noted that Glas didn't have a medical degree. Baden said that just because the stuns were not administered near the heart -- most of the shocks were on Pikes' back -- electricity can course through blood vessels to the heart, damaging it. At one point, Judge John Joyce had to reprimand both men for a back-and-forth dialogue that was becoming uncivil. Also testifying Friday was Alexandria cardiologist Harry Hawthorne, who said Pikes could have died from sickle cell disease. In an autopsy report, Youngsville forensics pathologist Joel Carney said Pikes had the sickle cell trait. The trial resumes Monday in the Winn Parish Courthouse. If convicted of manslaughter, Nugent could face up to 40 years in prison. |
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