Court Security

Federal judge on courthouse shooter’s ‘hit list’ asked to step aside in cases against family members

A federal judge who was No. 5 on an alleged 16-name “hit list” found among the belongings of a Delaware courthouse shooter (one of the two women killed was No. 1) has been asked to step aside from hearing criminal cases against the shooter’s family members. Prosecutors joined with defense…

Sep 5, 2014 4:25 PM CDT

Prosecutor slayings suspect wanted to target former judges, too, those in charge of murder case say

A disbarred justice of the peace accused of shooting to death two Texas prosecutors in 2013 also wanted to assassinate two former judges, prosecutors say. Eric Williams planned to kill District Judge Glen Ashworth as far back as 2005, according to special prosecutors in charge of Williams’ capital murder case.…

Sep 3, 2014 5:30 PM CDT

In court after missing anger management courses, man attacks his public defender, authorities say

In court Tuesday because he failed to attend court-ordered anger-management classes after an assault conviction, a South Dakota man wound up facing new charges after he attacked an assistant public defender in a conference room, according to the local sheriff’s office. Kelly John Lange, 34, “tipped over the conference room…

Sep 3, 2014 4:25 PM CDT

Kidnapper charged in claimed plot to abduct judge, prison officials and others

A convicted kidnapper who reportedly laughed at a Pennsylvania judge and blew a kiss to the prosecutor after being sentenced to a prison term of more than 20 years in 2008 is now facing new charges in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. Authorities say Anthony Marcus Davis, 29, sought to include two former…

Aug 26, 2014 9:05 PM CDT

Glock pistol forgotten by security officer in courthouse men’s room is missing

A pistol forgotten in the men’s room of a Derry, New Hampshire, circuit courthouse has gone missing. Officials say an unidentified security officer put his Glock handgun down there Monday and didn’t remember to pick it up, reports WMUR. Soon it was gone. State police searched the area with a…

Aug 26, 2014 6:00 PM CDT

Losing litigant who threw chair at defendant cop after verdict gets 5 years

A Chicago man who has a history of issues with a suburban police officer had hoped for a jury award in his favor after filing a federal civil rights suit. But when the jury ruled in the defendant’s favor last yea,r Lavelle Watts Jr. lost it. He threw a courtroom…

Aug 21, 2014 10:20 PM CDT

Bomb squad detonates apparent explosive device near federal courthouse; no one is injured

After a passerby reported seeing a stick of dynamite in a sports-utility vehicle parked near a federal courthouse in San Francisco on Monday around 8 p.m., authorities responded and determined that the vehicle did contain an apparent explosive device. However, San Francisco police closed off streets near the San Francisco…

Aug 19, 2014 8:05 PM CDT

Pro se defendant gets retrial because judge didn’t talk to him before excluding him for misbehavior

A defendant in an Iowa drug case who insisted on representing himself at trial and then apparently became frustrated and misbehaved when he couldn’t figure out how to examine a police witness without violating hearsay rules was properly removed from court on the first day of trial. But Judge Nathan…

Aug 13, 2014 3:05 PM CDT

Woman who says she was attacked in court by sheriff’s deputy settles civil rights lawsuit for $90K

A New Jersey woman who says she was attacked for no reason by a Middlesex County sheriff’s officer after a court hearing two years ago has settled the federal civil rights lawsuit she filed over the incident for $90,000. Plaintiff Bridget Haymon, 39, was originally arrested and charged with assault.…

Aug 6, 2014 4:30 PM CDT

Lawyer arrested after courthouse security dispute

A California lawyer was arrested Wednesday after a dispute with county sheriff’s deputies at a Fresno courthouse. Harry Drandell, 57, was booked at the county jail on suspicion of trespass in a public building and resisting arrest, reports the Fresno Bee. A spokesman for the sheriff’s office said the lawyer…

Jul 31, 2014 11:00 AM CDT

See the video: Inmate slammed into window frame during court hearing files $5M civil rights lawsuit

Slammed into a courtroom window frame by a county sheriff’s deputy as a security camera rolled, a now-former Denver inmate says he suffered a head injury and broken teeth as a result of the Sept. 11, 2012 incident. He has filed a federal civil rights suit against the city and…

Jul 30, 2014 8:30 PM CDT

Was federal judge on ‘hit list’ reportedly found in courthouse shooter’s belongings?

A public defender representing the son of a man who shot two women to death in a Delaware courthouse last year en route to a child-support hearing is asking the federal judge overseeing a cyberstalking and conspiracy case against David Matusiewicz to step down. Exactly what is said in the…

Jul 29, 2014 9:25 PM CDT

Man gets 21 years for courtroom attack on district attorney

Convicted in June of attempted first-degree murder for a courtroom attack last year on a Kansas district attorney during a sentencing hearing, a 27-year-old Hutchinson man was sentenced Monday to more than 21 years in prison. The new term will run consecutive to the more than 12-year term to which…

Jul 28, 2014 9:40 PM CDT

Loaded gun found in purse of woman at courthouse to attend hearing over grandchildren

An Oklahoma woman was arrested Friday on a misdemeanor weapon charge after she tried to bring a loaded handgun into the Cleveland County Courthouse, authorities said. Sheriff’s deputies spotted the weapon in the purse of Cynthia Bodnar, 52, as she was undergoing a standard security screening. They said the .22…

Jul 28, 2014 9:05 PM CDT

Hailing cab in handcuffs points police to man who escaped custody en route to court hearing

A defendant in a domestic violence case who was found unfit for trial earlier this year escaped from custody Wednesday, en route to a court hearing in suburban Chicago, after the Illinois state vehicle in which he was being transported from a mental health facility stopped at a gas station.…

Jul 17, 2014 5:05 PM CDT