Driver convicted for fatal crash during SW Ohio police chase
DAYTON, Ohio (AP) — An 18-year-old woman accused of leading police on a chase in a stolen car that ended in a fatal crash has been found guilty of aggravated vehicular homicide, theft and other charges in southwest Ohio.
Prosecutors say Kyndra Shackelford, of Dayton, tried to evade Huber Heights police in a high-speed chase in March in suburban Dayton. They say she ran a red light and collided with a sport utility vehicle at an intersection, killing the 50-year-old Xenia man who was driving and seriously injuring his passenger.
The crash report indicates that investigators suspected both drivers of being under the influence of alcohol.
A message seeking comment from Shackelford’s attorney was left at his office Friday.
Shackelford is jailed and set for sentencing on Nov. 21.
Fugitive doctor in Pakistan loses Ohio appeal over assets
CINCINNATI (AP) — An appeals court has upheld the seizure of $4.8 million and valuable jewelry from a former Ohio doctor accused of fleeing to Pakistan before he was charged with running a pill mill.
Cleveland.com reports a three-judge panel from the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Cincinnati essentially concluded the fugitive should have returned to fight for those assets if he wanted them back.
Dr. Syed Jawad Akhtar-Zaidi has said he can’t return because a heart condition precludes him from flying, though a judge didn’t believe that reasoning.
He’s accused of distributing prescription painkillers without legitimate reasons in Solon. He was indicted in 2014.
His attorney, Patrick McLaughlin, argued the doctor’s claims shouldn’t have been dismissed merely because he’s a fugitive. McLaughlin says the appeals court decision is disappointing.
Ohio man convicted of fatally shooting wife gets life term
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — An Ohio man convicted last month of fatally shooting his wife has been sentenced to life in prison with no chance of parole for 18 years.
The Columbus Dispatch reports that 45-year-old Bryon Brisco Sr. was sentenced on Thursday. A Franklin County jury had found him guilty of murder and a gun specification in the February 2015 death of 29-year-old Sophia Brisco.
Brisco testified at his trial that he was in a tug-of-war with his wife over a handgun she had pointed at him when it went off and shot her in their Columbus apartment.
But investigators said they found no evidence that the shot was fired at close range.
Defense attorney Ian Jones says his client maintains his innocence and plans to appeal the verdict.
Court: Woman accused of running over women with SUV charged
CINCINNATI (AP) — Court documents show a woman who police say drove her SUV through a group of people and ran over a pregnant woman and two others has been charged with felonious assault.
The Cincinnati Enquirer reports 26-year-old Amanda Higgins was indicted this week on six counts of felonious assault. Police say the Forest Park woman drove her SUV through a group of people in Cincinnati on Sept. 27 and backed over them as they were lying on the ground injured.
Police said a woman about 17 weeks pregnant suffered a fractured pelvis and a seizure. Authorities say another woman’s leg was fractured and a third woman’s foot was injured.
Their conditions weren’t immediately available.
Court records don’t list an attorney for Higgins. Her phone number isn’t publicly listed.
Obama commutes sentence for Ohio man who had drug charges
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama has commuted the life sentence of a northeast Ohio man found guilty of drug trafficking in his ongoing push to grant clemency during his final months in office and spur action on criminal justice reform.
Forty-seven-year-old Lesean Roberts, of Euclid, had his sentence commuted Thursday to 20 years in prison. Roberts was sent to prison for possession with intent to distribute cocaine base, and aiding and abetting. He also was found guilty of possession with intent to distribute cocaine hydrochloride.
Roberts was among nearly 98 inmates whose sentences the president commuted on Thursday.
Obama has commuted sentences for a total of 872 inmates, including 688 this year. The figure is higher than the number commuted by the previous 11 presidents combined.
