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Ride operator appears in court on NC fair injuries
Local Legal Events |
2013/10/03 14:35
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A carnival ride operator facing assault charges over injuries from a ride at the North Carolina State Fair made his first appearance in court Monday, with a prosecutor saying there are still unanswered questions about what happened.
Timothy Dwayne Tutterrow, 46, of Quitman, Ga., faces three counts of assault with a deadly weapon, inflicting serious injury. Each count is punishable by up to eight years in prison.
Wake County District Court Judge Keith O. Gregory declined a request during the brief hearing to lower Tutterrow's $225,000 bond. The defendant, dressed in an orange and white striped jumpsuit, was taken back to jail in handcuffs.
Wake Sheriff Donnie Harrison said investigators determined the ride had been intentionally tampered with to bypass critical safety devices, though authorities have provided no details of the evidence against Tutterrow.
The "Vortex" jolted into motion Thursday evening as people were exiting, dropping riders from heights eyewitnesses estimated at up to 30 feet.
Three people remained hospitalized on Monday with serious injuries, including a 14-year-old. Two others were treated and released. |
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Appeals court affirms AWOL soldier's life sentence
Local Legal Events |
2013/08/22 16:48
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A federal appeals court has affirmed two life terms against an AWOL soldier who planned to detonate a bomb inside a Texas restaurant frequented by Fort Hood soldiers.
Naser Jason Abdo appealed that his arrest was unlawful, that he had been denied access to an expert witness and that he was unfairly charged twice for the same offense. But the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans on Monday threw out all Abdo's claims, saying the August 2012 sentence stands.
Stan Schwieger, Abdo's lawyer, said the aim of the appeal was to get a trial and now he will most likely request an "en banc" review of the appeal, meaning that all the judges of the 5th Circuit would have to review the three-judge panel's opinion. Such a review is discretionary and, according to Schwieger, only 1 percent of cases that go before the Circuit Court of Appeals get it.
Abdo was AWOL from Fort Campbell, Ky., when he was arrested with bomb-making materials in 2011. A federal jury convicted him in May 2012 on six charges including attempting to use a weapon of mass destruction. Abdo also was found guilty of attempted murder of U.S. officers or employees and four counts of possessing a weapon in furtherance of a federal crime of violence. |
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